


Hearts and Strings

by Katrina1985



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: GFY, M/M, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Past Abuse, Soul Bond, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-21
Updated: 2015-11-07
Packaged: 2018-03-14 11:15:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 35,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3408539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katrina1985/pseuds/Katrina1985
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In an era where your life can change within the span of a heartbeat, two were tied by their strings, but each had half a heart. War pulled them out of time and they lost 70 years. Upon opening his eyes in a new time, Steve saw that his string was still there, and that his heart was filling. Upon meeting Tony, a rare 2 Heart, he sees one heart fill during the Battle of NY. Later, after Hydra was exposed, Tony runs into Bucky and his second heart fills. Can Hearts and Strings bring them together or will the Challenges stop them before they can explore their connections?</p><p>Tags will update slowly as the story progresses.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This work was started on Rough Trade. The Plot is mine, and the characters are being used for my amusement. Your non-consensual Beta will be ignored and removed from the comments.

 

**Prologue – A History of the Strings and Hearts**

 

No one was sure when people began to see the Strings that tied people together, or the Hearts that intertwined various people throughout time. People had made assumptions about why this had begun, but the answer has never been found.

Eventually, it was not rare to see people walking around with strings leaving their hands, or the markings of hearts on their necks. There was always a variety of the two types of markings. You would see someone with multiple String braids coming from them, they would not attach, unless they were beside their other half. You also saw people with filled or unfilled Hearts on their skin. If you were lucky, you would witness the heart filling as a pair found each other. Many people began to notice that those who had a Heart mark on them, were drawn to a person who would complement them. Many believed that it was a coincidence; however, it was simply their Heart mark allowing them to form bonds with people of who could be considered a soul-mate match.

Also, it was not rare to see people who worked in a profession where trust was paramount, to have strong braided Strings with the people they worked with. The levels of trust and respect became synonymous with how thick and intricate the braided String was. For some people, the pattern weaved into the braid was all they needed to marry, and it lead to many polygamous marriages. For others, the Strings never did more than connect them to another person. People often pitied those who had few Strings, or even many Strings that were barely there.

Due to the way that people became intertwined, death was always a horrific and somber event. Strong Strings that were cut by an unnatural death always left an aching pain, opposed to natural deaths. However, both were often traumatic to those left behind because they knew that something was missing. For those with Hearts, it was different. If you had not yet or just met, the pain did not register past the itching of skin. If the courting process began, then there was always a dull ache, similar to those felt by a lost String. If the Heart-mate died after they had been together for years, it was rare that they would live very long. If they did live, then they would normally disassociate themselves from the on-goings around them, or they became very hostile and violent to those around them and would need to be put down to save the lives of others.

There was still other forms of trauma to consider as well; as many younger people of who found their Heart-mate, were normally abused. Most people believed that they had a Heart-mate because of their abuse, and never thought that they were abused by jealous family members who did not think that a baby should have a heart mark on them. People never thought to form hatred towards the bonds, as they were deemed destined by the populace. Men and women were intertwined with either, both or the same sex. People did not mind, but they were still wary. The countries were very isolated, and thus when a war broke out, the whole world was always involved. Many would join to keep their borders safe, but others would join to see about acquiring new people to “integrate” into their society. There were never any salves, however, many soldiers joined to see about finding their Heart-mates to bring home.

There is one thing that people forget about the Hearts and Strings, and that is also rarely ever mentioned in any republished history book for the masses. It is said that two Hearts that tie a braided String will change the world. This change began just before the World War of 1938, where two young boys would start their journey by binding together with a surprisingly strong String upon meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to marlislash for the banner. I still love it.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On Steve's 18th birthday, Bucky remembers how they met.

**_ July 4, 1932 _ **

 

“I’ll be back as soon as I find him Ma!” Steve called back into the small apartment as he dashed out the door and out the front of the building, leaving a giggling Sara Rogers behind to close the door.

 

Steve wandered the area and looked for Bucky. It was the one thing he hated about the Strings, since it would not lead him right to the person attached to it. He still marveled over the intricacies that he and Bucky found in the bright red braid that tied them together. His mother was pleased to see the String when Bucky brought him home after fighting those boys all those years ago, and was insistent that Bucky stay with them as much as possible. This usually led to Steve hunting down his best friend around their apartment on a regular basis. This time though, when he left to find him, he never noticed the mischievous smile that his mother skillfully hid. Her boy would have a fantastic 18th birthday this July 4th, and Bucky, or James as she preferred to call him, was keeping Steve busy while she finished setting up the surprise. Humming, Sara Rogers began the final preparations for Steve’s big day. She knew that he would try to enlist, like his father had before him, but his poor health was a large concern. Her son would be determined to be on the ground with the other troops, no matter the risk to his own health.

 

She was grateful to James in this respect. When Steve and James found beach other, both were angry, bitter young boys. Steve, for how he was picked on for his chronic asthma, and Bucky, for being left behind by a set of dead parents to live in an orphanage. When that String tied such an intricate weave upon just meeting one another, Steve and James were no longer alone, and Sara was more than happy to take Bucky out of the orphanage into her home. She refused to leave James to the mercy of those in charge, as many of the children there would harm him more for having a tie to the outside that they did not.

 

James had put on a tough façade, but she and Steve both saw that James was relieved that he would not remain in the orphanage. Both of them had mentioned to James that they had felt the hostility and jealousy from the other children there, and they did not want to leave him in such an emotionally, and potentially physically, deadly place. After that, James, who persisted upon being called Bucky by others, moved into their small apartment. He had followed Steve around for the first month, before he began to look for small, after school work for both him and Steve. This gave a small reprieve to Sara, as she did not have to work as much at the hospital by both of them getting work, and kept the pair of them out of some trouble.

 

To this day, Sara was still amazed at how much trouble the pair could end up in. She knew they never went looking for trouble, but she remembered something her mother had always told her about Strings like her two boys had. _“Those who meet and such a profound String becomes visible were meant for great things. They will be sought after by those who wish to aid, and those that wish to hinder. Their triumphs will be what define them.”_ Sara never forgot her mother’s words, and always kept the apartment as a safe place for both of her boys.

 

Steve finally found Bucky out by the park near their home and smiled. Now that he was of age, they just had to wait for Bucky’s majority before they could make their bonding official. He held back a soft laugh as the girl Bucky was flirting with stared at the String that tied them together, and her eyes widened upon seeing him.

 

“Hey Buck, ma sent me to find you.” Steve called out before the girl could say something.

 

“Hey Punk, this is Marie. She was telling me about the Stark Expo that was coming soon.” A charming smile directed towards the girl left a soft blush on her cheeks.

 

“Oh? I didn’t know that Mr. Stark was putting on a show. Do we know what day it will be?” Steve looked between the pair, curious and amused at Bucky’s natural flirting.

 

“Um,” Marie bit her lip and shrugged at the loss of such a potential boyfriend. She saw the String and did not want to wreck any chances they may have together. “Mr. Stark has a few boards and fliers up saying that it will be August 1st. Most of the fair is free, but a few of the sections need tickets to get into.”

 

Bucky smiled and thanked Marie before turning to Steve. “So, where to now Stevie?”

 

“Back to the apartment.”

 

“Aw, come on. We should do something.” Bucky gave him a roughish grin. “It’s not every day you turn 18.”

 

“Ma wants us back at the house for something. We could go out after we do what she needs us for.”

 

“Fair enough. Lead the way Stevie.” He smirked and gave a sweeping bow in jest, causing Steve to roll his eyes.

 

“Sides, Ma said something about pie as a reward.” Steve kept talking as he walked past Bucky, and snorted at his friend’s change of gait.

 

“Get moving Punk, pie awaits!” Bucky hooked his arm with Steve’s and practically dragged his friend back to the apartment. Sara Roger’s pie was not something to be missed!

 

Steve laughed as he and Bucky made their way back to the apartment. Bucky kept trying to speed up the walk, but Steve kept him back and walking sedately as they passed several neighbours. Upon arriving at the apartment, several older women were trying to bring in groceries, so Bucky and Steve gave them assistance. Once their impromptu aid was completed, Bucky dragged Steve up the stairs while wishing the other ladies a happy Independence Day. So, it was a shock to Steve, upon entering the apartment, to hear a large group of people yell out “HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE!”

 

Bucky was of no help, laughing so hard that he needed the wall as a prop, and Steve stood in the door way slowly getting redder in pleasure and embarrassment. Several of the older couples in the apartment were there, as were several of their friends from school. Each of them came forward and wished Steve a happy birthday, and gave Bucky a look of fondness as he slowly regained control over his mirth.

 

After Bucky finally clam down enough that he was simply giggling softly at the red tips of Steve’s ears and neck, Sara came forward.

 

“Thank you James for keeping Steve distracted while we finished setting everything up.” Her eyes twinkled in mirth as Steve turned to Bucky.

 

“You knew?!” Bucky gave Steve an exasperated look.

 

“Of course I did, Punk. Ma wanted you out of the house for a bit so she could finish getting everything ready.” He shrugged, “it’s not like I was going to tell her no when she promised me pie.”

 

“Oh, so all someone needs is pie to get you to do something.”

 

“Nah, just Ma’s pie. It’s the best.”

 

“Suck up.”

 

“You saying her pie ain’t the best?” Bucky made an exaggerated face of disbelief.

 

“No, it’s just that you’re being a suck up. That’s all.” Steve gave Bucky a look of pure innocence that nobody truly believed.

 

Lightly pushing Steve to the kitchen Bucky began to snicker once more when Steve squawked at the pile of gifts on the small table. Bucky gave him a light slap on the back and shared a fond smile with Sara.

 

“Come on Stevie, open them!”

 

“Where did these come from?!” Steve looked at his mother and Bucky in confusion, leaving them both with a small pang of sadness that he still wasn’t used to people being kind to him and leaving him gifts.

 

“They’re your birthday gifts.”

 

“But there are so many!”

 

“Yes, and you deserve them. So, get cracking Steve. I hear pie calling my name.”

 

Steve muttered something uncomplimentary about Bucky’s love of pie under his breath and slowly began to open the gifts. As he worked, Bucky thought back to how the pair of them had met.

 

_James “Bucky” Barnes was making his way back to the orphanage when he heard it. The sound of flesh hitting flesh and the mocking tones of bullies._

_“Aww is the little cripple gonna keep fighting? You should have let us at that dame. She should know what it was like to be with a man before she found hers.” Mocking laughter followed and Bucky made his way into the alley where three teens were surrounding a young boy who was coughing up a bit of blood._

_“She said no. Anything you did after that point was rape.” Came the strong voice from the smaller body. He got another punch for his honesty._

_“He’s right,” Bucky spoke as he made himself visible. “If the dame said no, anything on your part would be rape. Now you should cut your losses, or face both of us.”_

_The leader snorted and charged at Bucky, only to receive a punch to the face followed by a kick to the groin for his troubles. This lead to the other two charge him, giving the smaller boy a reprieve. While he was busy fighting with one of the two, the sound of metal hitting flesh filled the alley, followed by a low moan of pain. Both Bucky and the other bully looked over and saw the smaller boy standing over the last bully with a dented garbage can lid, and a fierce look on his face. Seeing that he was alone with two against him, the last bully ran out of the alley with a shout that they would get theirs soon enough._

_Taking a deep breath, Bucky turned to the smaller boy and took a small step forward, before pausing at the obvious defensive stance that the other boy took._

_“You were pretty swell swinging that lid.” He offered as an olive branch._

_“I could have taken them!” Came the semi petulant tone._

_“I’m positive you could have, but why should you have to take them by yourself? I heard you tell them about the dame they were after, and figured that-“_

_“I didn’t need help!” The smaller boy cut him off._

_“Well, I’m sure you would have been happy with more wounds, but I couldn’t leave you to fight alone. You didn’t deserve the beating you were about to get, just like the dame didn’t deserve to almost be raped.” Bucky spoke passionately and watched as the smaller boy step forward with a bashful expression._

_“Sorry, it’s just that if someone helps, they want something.”_

_“The only thing I’d like is to know the name of my new friend.”_

_“What?” The look of confusion was priceless._

_“Anyone who is willing to stand up like that to bullies should have lots of friends. I’m James Buchanan Barnes.” He stuck out his hand, “my friends call me Bucky.”_

_“Steve Rogers, and thanks.” Upon shaking hands both felt a wash of rightness, and looked down to see a deep red braided String beginning to twine together, binding them._

_“Come with me, my Ma will want to meet you.” Steve began to drag his new friend home with him._

_Bucky was too enamored with the new String to protest and was soon wrapped in a tight hug. Looking up, he saw a female version of Steve and smiled._

_“Hello Ma’am. Your son is mighty swell.” His lessons from the Brothers and Sisters coming through in his manners._

_“Thank you for being there for my son. Now let me clean up these scrapes and we can call your folks to see about letting you stay the night.” Her words took all the colour out of his face, leaving Steve to re-enter the room to a very pale Bucky._

_“Bucky, what’s wrong?”_

_“We’re not allowed to sleep over at others homes Ma’am. The Brothers and Sisters are adamant that we are all back at the orphanage for lights out. If you aren’t there, they contact the police right away.” Bucky spoke softly._

_“Why?!” Steve was scandalized._

_“Because the last time they let someone stay somewhere over night, they were found dead the next morning.” Bucky whispered._

_“Well then, we’ll walk back to the orphanage so I can fill out the paperwork to keep you here with us.”_

_“Wha-?!”_

_“That’ll be swell Ma! We could be best of friends_ and _brothers!”_

_“I don’t want to put you out.”_

_“Nonsense. I will feel much better if you were here instead of at the orphanage. I know how cruel some people can be.” A pointed look was given to the new braided String on his hand._

_Within two hours Bucky was a ward under the care of Sara Rogers. The Brothers and Sisters were so pleased for him, and he saw what Mrs. Rogers had meant by cruelty. The jealousy and hatred in the eyes of the other children frightened him. Their eyes were glued to the String that bound him and Steve, and he blocked their sight of it to make the staring stop._

_As they left the orphanage, he looked back one last time, and he swore that he saw a set of eyes from the attic window that looked at the three of them with such loathing that he feared for Mrs. Rogers, call me Ma, and Steve’s lives._

 

“Oh my Gosh! Bucky! I got a pair of tickets for the Stark Expo for August 1st!” Steve’s excitement drug him back to the present, cluing him into the excitement.

 

“Gosh, really? Who are ya gonna take?”

 

“You of course!” Steve faltered for a moment, “If you want to that is…”

 

“Steve, I’d be honoured to go with you. Now, stop looking like someone killed your non-existent puppy.”

 

Steve bounced and began to open the last present. Bucky noticed that is was his, and began to fidget in nervousness. He knew that Steve would like it, but was it enough?

 

“Oh wow. This is amazing! Bucky, how did you get this?” It was a complete artist set and Bucky smiled a small, pleased smile.

 

“I saw you looking at it when it came out, and I offered to work a few extra shifts when Ma took you to the doctor’s. It helped me save up the money to get it for you.” Steve blushed in embarrassment for a moment about his asthma, but perked up at the lengths that Bucky went for him.

 

“I love it Bucky. Thank you.”

 

“Anything for you pal; anything for you.”

 

Sara smiled and watched as the pair embraced before coming out with the apple pie she had made earlier for the two. Seeing both light up at the sight of it made her laugh, and she knew that when James turned 18, things would start to change.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky's 18th birthday.

**_ April 13, 1935 _ **

 

Steve pulled Bucky out of the small apartment they were sharing with his mother. He was going to make today as memorial as possible while Ma finished up Bucky’s 18th birthday party. He still remembered his 18th birthday with fondness and he was certain that Bucky would love the gift that he got him. Over the three years since his birthday, Bucky had done what he could to remain with Steve. He did extra shifts to allow for more money to go to events, where he could pay for Steve’s ticket or fee; to just cover for Steve when his asthma acted up; he even took shifts to be able to help Sara more around the apartment. Because Bucky was doing all of this without asking, Steve and his mother wanted to gift Bucky in return for everything he had done. So, he offered to take Bucky out for the morning while she finished up the final preparations for the party.

 

“Come on Buck, there is a new film going on that I know you’ll love. It’ll be my treat.” Steve gave Bucky a sweet smile.

 

“Sure thing Punk. Is it that new Science Fiction film?”

                                                                          

“It is. You want something to drink and eat too?”

 

“I don’t want to im-“

 

“It’s not an imposition Buck.” Steve interrupted his best friend. “We have plenty if you want a snack with the film.”

 

“Then sure. I’ll take a Coca-Cola and a buttery popcorn.” Bucky gave him a rare, shy smile.

 

Steve gifted him with a bright smile in return and led Bucky into the theatre. The hour that they would be spending laughing about flying cars was about enjoying their time alone together before they were to return to the apartment. Steve wondered what his mother had set up for Bucky’s surprise. He still blushed at how many people had left him gifts and thanks for his 18th, and he hoped that Bucky would have just as many as he did. After his 18th, Bucky was forever following Steve to make sure that he had backup when he stood up for someone that needed it, as well as making sure that Steve would never be alone in case he needed help with work or if his asthma acted up.

 

Once the film ended, Steve took Bucky to one of the small diners in the area for a milkshake. While Bucky was a bit leery about over indulging, Steve was very persuasive in getting Bucky to do what he wanted him to do. It wasn’t all that hard; all he had to do was give Bucky a sad look and mention about how Bucky never let him return the favour when it came to buying him food or treats in return.

 

“Come on Steve, you’ve spent so much on me.”

 

“I don’t mind, it doesn’t cover half of what you’ve done for me!”

 

“I don’t mind, I’m-“

 

“No!” Steve interrupted Bucky once more. “You don’t have to sacrifice everything for me Bucky! Gosh, you can enjoy things for yourself as well. Heck, Ma and I owe _you_ so much for what you have given _us_!”

 

Bucky blushed and ducked his head in pleased embarrassment. He knew that Steve was right, but he still didn’t want to be a burden to either Steve or his mother. He knows that they won’t toss him out if he skips out one day of work, but he’s terrified of straining his relationship with both of them. Not that he would let them know just how afraid he was, but he was scared none the less.

 

After finishing their shakes, Steve looked at the time and smiled. His mother should be done with the preparations and they could make their way back. Slowly making their way back, Steve slid his hand in with Bucky’s; both of them blushed, but had a pleased smile on their faces. They just knew that they could take what was tossed their way with their hands and Strings intertwined.

 

Sneaking glances and smiles the pair made their way back to the apartment where a loud shout of “SURPRISE!” startled both of them. Steve blinked and looked over at Bucky before bursting out into gut wrenching laughter. The expression on his face looked as if he had been swatted upside the head with a two by four, after being told that he could have pie all day.

 

“What’s all this for?” The pure confusion in Bucky’s voice slowed Steve’s laughter.

 

“It’s your birthday party.” Sara Rogers spoke as Steve caught his breath.

 

“Thank you?” He looked so confused that it broke Steve’s heart a bit. Making his way over, he hugged Bucky to his smaller frame.

 

“You’ve done so much for us over the years since you and I met in that alleyway. You’ve helped Ma with things around the apartment as well as the others in the apartment with small jobs that they couldn’t do alone. You’ve stood beside me as I’ve stood up to the bullies in the neighbourhood, and you’ve even found extra work so that when I have to take days off sick because of my asthma, we aren’t punished financially for it. Geez Buck, you’ve done so much for us, it’s no wonder we want to give back some of that devotion to you.”

 

Bucky bit his lip to hold back the tears. Steve was always so earnest with his words that you couldn’t help but be pulled in. He knew they both appreciated his help, but he wasn’t aware just how much they appreciated it. It hit home that the pair of them wouldn’t let him go without a fight because they wanted him, James Buchanan Barnes, overprotective streak and all.

 

“Now, open all of your gifts mister.” Doris, their neighbour said causing everyone to laugh and breaking the last of the tension in the room.

 

Bucky made his way to the table, accepting birthday wishes as he moved forward. Looking back at Steve by the door, he gave a small, pleased smile and began opening the gifts. Upon seeing Bucky opening the presents on the table, he slowly made his way to the kitchen to finish putting the touches on Bucky’s favourite pie. Sweet Cherry was what he always asked for, so Sara had made it especially for him today.

 

Hearing his best friend’s laughter as he opened his gifts, Steve snuck his head out of the kitchen and saw his mother nod at him. Giving a wicked smirk, he flicked off the lights and walked in with a few lit candles on the pie. Seeing Steve walk in with pie, the few people that remained in the room began to sing happy birthday to Bucky. The expression on his face broke Steve’s heart a bit more. The confused awe made Steve wish they could have done this for each of them more often. After watching the candles being blown out, the few that had remained left the three of them to enjoy their celebration.

 

“Open the rest of the gifts Buck. You still have a few to open.”

 

“Did you have the majority of the apartment thank you and wish you the best?” Bucky asked in a small voice.

 

“Yeah, it shook me. I never knew just how thankful they were until they surprised me at my party that you and ma snuck on me.” Steve gave Bucky a knowing smile.

 

“I never expected them to say anything.” Bucky kept talking in a hushed tone as he brought Sara’s gift to him. “I know they were thankful, they showed it in small ways, but I never expected them to outright say it.”

 

Sara gave both boys a sad smile, but knew that there was little she could do about the past. She did what she could for her two boys, and she knew they loved her for it, but hearing the confusion in Bucky’s voice that had mirrored Steve’s from three years prior saddened her.

 

“Oh wow, Ma these are gorgeous. Where did you get them?” Bucky pulled out the pocket watch and switch blade.

 

“I got that set for you James. It compliments your personality nicely.” Bucky wrapped her in a hug and wiped his eyes after letting her go.

 

“Thank you, I love them.” He pulled Steve’s gift towards him, and slowly opened the gift. Blinking as he opened the gift, Bucky stilled at seeing what was in the box.

 

“Steve?”

 

“It’s a pair of intent to bond braces. I saw you looking at them a few months back and was able to get them for you.” Steve shrugged.

 

“But Steve, these are expensive!” Bucky touched each golden band with reverence. He had saw them in that window months ago, and knew that if he and Steve were to bond, these would be the bands for them.

 

“You’re worth it.”

 

Bucky smiled softly at Steve’s earnest look. He was beyond touched that he was given such a gift for his 18th. If he was older, he would have done the same for Steve on his majority as well, but he was pleased that Steve had done this for him. He knew that Steve would have agreed, but he would forever be second guessing the agreement, and Steve deserved better than that.

 

“Thank you, they are everything I could want.” He looked Steve in the eyes as he spoke, and saw the joy bloom.

 

Bucky reached forward and grabbed Steve’s hand as Sara worked at cleaning up the area around them.

 

“I can promise you Steve, I’ll be here till the end of the line for you. I will do everything I can to stay by your side, and even if I have to leave, I will do everything to come back to you.”

 

“Till the end of the line Bucky.” Leaning forward, he sealed that promise with a soft, sweet kiss.

 

Sara’s hands shook in the kitchen upon hearing that declaration and knew that things would be changing shortly. All that they knew would probably be changing within the next five years. This would be the start to the trials that they would now have to face. She prayed that everything they surpassed would give them the treasures that they truly deserve.

 

She knew that she would not see most of their triumphs, as the cancer hiding in her body was spreading quickly, and she could not afford treatment. She would last maybe another five years, if her body held out. But, she would stay strong for her two boys. It would be the least she could do for them.


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The War has been going for two years now, and it is time for Steve's change.

**_ January 25, 1940 _ **

 

“I’m sorry son; you still do not meet the health requirements to enlist in the military.” Steve felt his lips press into a thin line, nodded politely at the sergeant at the desk and left the recruitment centre with angry strides.  He had been trying to join the war effort since Bucky was conscripted. It wasn’t fair that Bucky was forced to go overseas and fight in Europe while he was stuck in Brooklyn.

 

As he walked down the sidewalk, Steve took in the changes of his neighbourhood. People on the street were less social, there were no children playing games or even laughing as they ran around, and everything was about the war. He remembered it like it was yesterday: he and Bucky were heart broken when they saw the soldier at their apartment door. He looked as apologetic as possible, but they knew that he had a job to do.

 

_“Hey Steve, could you get that?” Bucky called from the kitchen upon hearing the polite knock on the door._

_“Be right there!” Steve called out as he made his way from the small office space they had set up. Passing Bucky, he gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and a wink before opening the door. He was slightly surprised to see a soldier at their door._

_“Hello! How can I help you?” Steve asked the young man in an infantry dress uniform._

_“Is this the residence of James Barnes?” The soldier looked at Steve with a sad look and he knew exactly what was about to happen._

_“Bucky, it’s for you.” Bucky frowned at Steve’s desolate tone before he saw the soldier on the porch._

_“I’ve been drafted, haven’t I?”_

_“Yes. All healthy men between the ages of 18 and 30 are to help with the war effort overseas.” Steve moved to curl into Bucky’s embrace and tried to ignore as much of the conversation as possible._

_“How long do I have before I need to be there?” Bucky was holding Steve as tight as he dared._

_“Two weeks. If you don’t show up in two weeks, the police will drag you there.” Bucky nodded, untucked a hand from where he was clinging to Steve and silently asked for his papers._

_“I don’t like it, but I’ll be there.” The soldier looked relieved that he wouldn’t have to have another person yelling at him for breaking their home. Giving them both a nod, he turned around and made his way down the hall for the next person to inform, the soldier silently apologized to them knowing that their intent to bond bracelets would not prevent Mr. Barnes’ drafting. As Steve closed the door, the click of the lock sounded final, causing both to shudder in worry and fear. Steve curled back into Bucky’s arms and held back the tears that threatened to fall._

_“Until the end of the Line, Bucky,” Steve whispered as he clung to his lover._

_“Until the end of the Line, Steve,” Bucky responded in kind._

 

Steve shook his head to clear out the memories, it was just over two years ago that Bucky was sent overseas, and while the letters were keeping him sane, he wanted to be with his intended. Pausing by the diner near his apartment, Steve decided to stop in for something to eat when he heard someone scream in fear. Making his way to the alleyway quietly, Steve saw a man and a woman attacking a young boy.

 

“Come now little one, we have places to take you. After a while, you won’t mind.” The woman, whose accent sounded rehearsed, spoke in a very condescending tone to the child.

 

“Yeah, after we get you all trained up, you’ll be just a willing hole for your buyer.” The man snorted as he made to grab at the child.

 

“Hey!” Steve picked up a pipe and walked closer, “Get away from that kid.”

 

The man looked over at Steve and the young boy took that as an invitation to run away as fast as possible. The woman let out a growl of anger as she missed the boy’s arm by less than an inch.

 

“That was our meal ticket out of this place you ass; now how are we going to pay for our trip to Africa?!” The man looked at the woman in anger and she let a dark sneer take over her done up face.

 

“Use him instead; he’s the reason the brat got away.” The man was still looking at the woman and missed the dark look that passed over Steve’s face from their conversation. As it was, he didn’t let them continue and hit the man over the head with the pipe knocking him down. The woman swallowed a bit in fear at the casual violence that was bestowed upon her partner before letting the ugly sneer grace her face once more.

 

“You can’t be everywhere, we’ll get one eventually.” He still couldn’t place her accent, but he let a mirthless smirk mar his face.

 

“Well, it’s just my luck that I know what both of you look like, and I’m a very good artist, so that the cops can keep the kids safe.” The woman paled at that and bit her lip before darting off, leaving her compatriot behind. Steve sighed and dropped the pipe that he had been using. It was times like this that he missed Bucky the most, and he slowly made his way back onto the street where the boy was standing with a police officer.

 

“He saved me Officer! He did!” The boy was excited upon seeing him, and Steve blushed before stepping forward and squatting down.

 

“You okay kiddo? They didn’t hurt you did they?” Steve tried to visually scan the boy to see if the kid had been injured.

 

“No, but they promised that other people would. Thank you so much for saving me!” The boy launched himself at Steve and hugged him tightly before letting go.

 

“The gentleman is knocked out in the alley if you wish to speak with him, but the woman with him bolted, and mentioned something about finding another child so that she can go to Africa.” Steve said to the officer as he slowly stood up.

 

“Thanks Steve, I’ll let Mark know so that we can get this little guy home safely.” The boy looked up at Steve with such hero worship that Steve shuffled in embarrassment.

 

“You’re very welcome.” Steve gave both the officer and the boy a shy smile before heading into the diner, not seeing the people in the parked car who had watched him from the beginning of the altercation.

 

“Got everything you wanted from that Doctor?” An officer with Colonel Stripes asked the man in the laboratory coat.

 

“Yes, he has the heart, and he will be perfect for the serum.”

 

“Good, I’ll have someone come with me to speak with him tomorrow. He needs a good rest and some good food tonight before we bring him in.” With a nod to the driver, the car slowly pulled away from the curb, leaving Steve unaware that his life would change drastically over the following days.

 

 

Steve woke to someone knocking on his door. He had gone right to bed after getting home, but he couldn’t sleep. The worry he was feeling for Bucky was getting worse, and he was afraid of what he might end up doing if his fear got the better of him. Bucky’s letters were always full of tales and adventures, but he could read the loneliness between the lines. He eventually had fallen into a restless sleep, and was now trying to get out of the blankets as the knocking got much more persistent.

 

“In a minute!” He yelled in frustration, causing the knocking to stop.

 

Making his way through the kitchen, once he finally managed to detangle the blankets trapping his feet, Steve grabbed an apple from the small bowl of fruit he had out and made his way listlessly to the door. Once he opened it, he saw a woman and man standing in well tailored clothing. The woman was dressed in an outfit similar to the infantry soldier that had shown up two years prior, but it was tailored to fit her properly. She also had a hand gun strapped to her hip, and was wearing sensible black shoes and trousers. Her face had minimalistic amounts of makeup, if any, and her dark hair was tied up in a loose bun. The gentleman was dressed in a black suit, and had a pair of glasses on his face, obscuring Steve’s view of the man. Both had the air of someone dangerous and wary, as if they were expecting an attack at any moment.

 

“Can I help you?” He asked politely, his mother would tan his hide otherwise.

 

“Are you Steve Rogers?” The woman spoke with a British accent and he nodded with a frown.

 

“We need you to some with us. Can you pack what you need in half an hour?” The gentleman spoke with a bored tone and Steve mentally dug in his heels.

 

“I’m sorry, but I have work in half an hour. I hope you have a great day.” He moved to close the door when the woman stepped forward.

 

“Forgive my co-worker, I’m Agent Carter and we wish to offer you the chance to help out with the war effort.” Steve’s eyes hardened as he looked at the pair and let out a low growl of anger.

 

“This isn’t funny.”

 

“We never said it was.” The man spoke up again, “I’m Colonel Phillips, and we wish to speak with you about an opportunity to help win this war.”

 

“I’m sorry Colonel, but I’m sure you’ve been told by the recruitment office that I’m not eligible to assist in the war effort.” Steve couldn’t help the bitterness that seeped into his tone. After being denied ten times, it hurt to have someone taunt him with his wish.

 

“Ah, but they don’t have access to the information I do, and that information tells me you are the ideal candidate for our program.” Steve looked at the Colonel as if he was crazy before biting his lip softly.

 

“Will I be on the front lines, helping the other soldiers?” He asked to clarify.

 

“Yes, and if the training afterwards goes well, you may even lead some of them.”

 

Steve thought about it and looked between the pair of them. Giving an absent-minded nod, Steve motioned to his kitchen.

 

“Please help yourselves to something to eat and drink while I pack.” Steve made his way to the back where he quickly changed into sensible clothing and packed his meager belongings into the duffle by his bed. Neither he nor Bucky were prone to collecting anything frivolous due to their upbringing, so a duffle was usually plenty. Giving his room a quick sweep, he nodded and made his way back into the kitchen where Agent Carter and Colonel Phillips were seated at his table having a glass of orange juice.

 

“Are you packed?” Agent Carter looked at his lone bag dubiously.

 

“Of course, I just need to speak with my land lord to let him know that I will be breaking my lease.” Steve bristled at her implications and replied in an even tone. While she had no right to insult him in such a way, it would not do to unleash his pent up anger and furstration at her.

 

Colonel Phillips watched as Steve held back his anger as his Agent’s callous remarks and he gave her a pointed look. She nodded in acknowledgement but did not apologize. He would have his work cut out for him if she continued to poke at the fact that the young man they were recruiting has very little to his name.

 

“Well, then let’s head out. We have a lot of ground to cover.” Colonel Phillips slowly stood from the table and motioned Steve to lead the way.

 

Leading the pair out of his small apartment, Steve looked around one last time. There were many memories locked up in this place and he didn’t want them to disappear.

 

“Is it possible to put everything in storage until I need them?”

 

“Of course, if you give me your key, everything can be out by tomorrow. Also, the apartment will be cleaned for the landlord so that he can rent it out sooner.”

 

Colonel Phillips held out his hand and Steve placed the key in it before going to speak with the older couple that owned the building. They were understanding and let Steve know that the bank would get his security deposit back. With one last look around Steve left his small apartment in Brooklyn for the last time. He managed to stop into his work place and inform his boss that he was heading out, receiving some startling news at the same time, before they left the city and headed to New York City.

 

Steve was quiet for the ride, wondering what exactly a skinny asthmatic like him could do to help out the troops. He pulled out a pad of paper and began to write to Bucky. If anything, letting him know that he had a new address was paramount to prevent him from worrying and getting himself killed. Also, it stopped him from looking around the city that passed him, and the news that he had just received. He and Bucky always wanted to come to New York City, but they never got the time. Now that he was here, he didn’t want to experience it, as it just reminded him that he was alone.

 

Agent Carter watched as Steve began scribbling something onto the pad of paper that he had stuffed into his pack and felt a twinge of guilt at what they would be doing to him. She remembered reading that he and one of the men overseas had bracers that signaled their intent to bond, but the war had hit before they could get anything finalized. As it was, their intent barely allowed them to keep in contact with each other. She held back a shudder at just what would have happened to either of them if they didn’t even have that small amount of comfort. As the car pulled into the garage where the experiment was being held, she cleared her throat causing Steve to look up from his paper sharply.

 

“We have arrived. Do you want to know where you will be bunking, or be informed the specifics of this operation first.”

 

“Where I’ll be bunking first, please ma’am.”

 

Agent Carter led the way, once they stepped out of the parked car. She pointed out the mess-hall and the recreational rooms as they made their way to his room.

 

“This will be your room while we are here. It will also be where you will most likely recover from the procedure. Do you need a moment, or would you like to head back to the briefing room now Mr. Rogers?” She was trying her hardest to remain aloof, but the tiredness in his frame made her ache in sympathy. She prayed that the Doctor was right, and that this Steve Rogers would be the perfect candidate for the serum. Otherwise, they would need more than a prayer to get through this war.

 

“No, I’m good. Please lead the way Agent.”

 

“Call me Peggy, please. If all goes well, we will be working together often.”

 

“Then please call me Steve.”

 

They made their way to a sealed doorway where Peggy punched in a code before opening the door. Upon entering the room, the first thing that came to mind for Steve was a mad scientist’s laboratory. There were beakers with things bubbling in them, papers everywhere and even a glass tube that looked like a person could fit in.

 

“Ah, Mr. Rogers, please have a seat. We need to go over everything before we can begin.” The Colonel waved to the empty seat at the table. There were four other people in the room and he only knew of three of them. Other than the Colonel and Peggy, of whom he had met earlier, he only recognized Howard Stark. Not only was he an arms manufacturer, he also recognized him from when he and Bucky when to the Stark Expo just after his 18th birthday. However, there was another man seated at the table and he was bent over a piece of paper muttering softly and scribbling away. Slowly taking the only vacant seat, Steve turned his eyes to the Colonel, and waited for him to speak.

 

“As you know, the war began when the German’s invaded Poland and the countries surrounding them. As per the Global Agreement, all countries began to send troops to aid in the liberation of the invaded country. Unfortunately, the Germans had already accumulated allies and the war turned much more violent than what was expected. As a result, the Allies are fighting a multi-facet war. They are fighting the Nazi’s of Germany, the Italian Guard, the Imperial Japanese and Hydra.” The Colonel took a sip of water as Howard Stark continued the explanation.

 

“If we were just fighting the Nazi’s, the Italians and the Japanese, we would be doing fine. However, Hydra is ambushing our troops and making it much more difficult to fight the other three fronts.” The Doctor that had been scribbling looked up and spoke with a soft accent, one that Steve couldn’t place.

 

“This is where you come in. If my serum works, as I know it should, your body will work at the peak of human perfection. It will allow you to do feats that would be considered difficult by anyone who is not an athlete. In essence, it will keep your body working at the perfect level of performance.”

 

Steve sat and listened as they went over everything within the documents that would give them permission to physically change him. But he wondered if it would change him on an intellectual level. Looking at the four faces looking at him, he pursed his lips.

 

“May I think about this over night? I just need a little more time to wrap my head around all of this.” He waved his hand as if to imply everything

 

The Colonel nodded before anyone said otherwise and the unknown Doctor led the way back to his room this time.

 

“I want to thank you for coming with the Colonel. For what it is worth, I think you will be exactly what this project needs. It is character of heart that I was testing for, and you have everything that will make this serum a success. To tell you in confidence, this serum, it does not make soldiers; it brings what is inside out. Remember that, to do this justice, you must remain a good man, and not a good soldier, or the project will fail.” With that the Doctor left Steve at his room, where he would make a decision that would change his life forever.

 

 

Getting dressed in loose fitting clothing after another restless night, Steve stepped out of his loaned room and looked up and down the empty hallway. Since he saw no other person, he slowly made his way to where he remembered Peggy pointing out the mess-hall would be. Hearing soft chatter, Steve entered the room, and sighed in relief when no one stared at him for being obviously out of place.

 

Collecting a tray, Steve took a light assortment of food. He didn’t want to fill up too much before he spoke with Colonel Phillips today. While it would look bad if he passed out from hunger, it would look even worse if he threw up everything he had just eaten over one of the others. Spotting an empty table, Steve sat his tray down and slowly began to eat his food. Today would show everyone just how desperate he was to get back with Bucky. He just knew that he would be berated for endangering himself this way, no matter how happy Bucky will be to see him.

 

“Ah, I see you found the mess-hall Mr. Rogers.” Steve looked up, startled by the voice of Howard Stark.

 

“Yes, Agent Carter pointed it out last night.” Steve nodded to the empty seats, and watched as Howard slid into the one across from him.

 

“So, everyone seems to believe that you are the one that will make this miracle of a serum work.” Howard’s voice was dismissive and condescending. His tone reminded Steve of Peggy’s from the apartment and he fought not to lash out at the other man.

 

“If I am, then I am. But, I’m doing this because it is needed, and I want to help out over seas. While I understand that not everyone can or is able to serve on the front lines, I don’t appreciate watching people who would rather not fight be forced to. Nor do I enjoying seeing people who wish to fight be told no and be patted on the head like a demented dog before being shooed away.” Steve spoke in a clipped tone. “Besides, as far as I’m aware, Mr. Stark, the Colonel is the one with the final say for this project. If he says that I’m the one they need to get this test running, then I’ll be there.”

 

“What if it kills you?” He was stared at by the complex man sitting before him with an intense and calculating gaze.

 

“Then I pray my intended is told what I chose to do and that he is told everything.” Steve ignored the gaze and thought fondly about Bucky and just how angry he will be when they are re-united.

 

“What about your family?” The question snapped him out of his daze.

 

“All that I had left was my mother and she died yesterday.” Howard blinked in shock at the desolate tone.

 

“What do you mean she died?”

 

“She lost her battle with cancer. I found out when I popped into work to give my notice.” Steve ducked his head and held back tears. Now wasn’t the time to lose it, there was too much to do.

 

“Do you need-?” Howard’s gaze was sympathetic as he looked the young man over.

 

“I’ll be fine.” Steve interrupted Howard and stood from the table. Giving the other man a sad smile, Steve deposited his tray before making his way out of the mess-hall. Howard was startled at the way Steve was acting and scrambled to catch up to the man.

 

“Come, I’ll take you to the briefing room again.” Howard mentioned briefly before turning down another corridor. From the notes he read last night, Howard knew that Steve wasn’t suicidal, but the words he just spoke set a shiver down his spine. He never knew someone who was so blasé about his possible death. Howard was silent as he opened the door to the meeting room, causing the Colonel to frown. Howard was rarely quiet; something must have been said that shook him to the core. He would speak to Howard about it later, right now they had a young man to prepare.

 

“Good morning Mr. Rogers, I hope you are well rested?”

 

“Yes Sir,” Steve swallowed and spoke past the lump in his throat, “I accept your offer.”

 

“Excellent. Doctor, I will leave you to your preparations and Mr. Stark, if you would come with me.”

 

Steve sat at the table as the Doctor began to prepare the room. He bit his lip and began to get up to help.

 

“Stay seated, I would like you to be properly rested before we start.”

 

“Do you have a pencil and some paper that I could use then?” Steve looked around and tried not to fidget too much. Blushing at how rude he was, Steve was about to retract the statement when a small pad of paper and a few pencils were placed in front of him. Nodding in thanks, Steve began to put pencil to paper as a means to pass the time, and to ignore the nerves building under his skin.

 

Several hours passed and Steve had filled up several pages in sketches and a letter to Bucky. Just as he finished his last drawing he heard someone clear their throat to his left. Looking up, the Colonel was standing beside him with a patient expression.

 

“Doctor Erskine has finished his preparations. He is ready when you are.”

 

Steve folded the papers on the table in front of him and wrote Sgt. J. B. Barnes on the upper-most page.

 

“Just in case, please make sure he gets this.”

 

“What if you make it through this?” The Colonel asked, intrigued by the request.

 

“Then I will give it to him myself.” Steve shrugged.

 

Colonel Phillips gave Steve a nod and let the Doctor begin his explanation as to the procedure. Steve understood maybe one in ten words, but he was not going to back down. While he was glad this would let him fight for his country, he was much more pleased that it would get him back to Bucky; if he was with Bucky, then he could do anything.

 

Stepping into the machine, Steve held onto the image of Bucky smiling upon receiving his intent to bond bracers, and wrapped his mind around the intricately detailed String that tied Bucky to him. He would endure the pain, and he would get out there to help the other soldiers that needed it as well.

 

Steve had one last moment of clarity before he was hit with a pain he had never felt before. For a moment, he thought he was dying, but then he began to fight to keep his String. His body began to fill out, and he grew from 5’7 to 6’5. He could hear his body straining, but he refused to drop dead. He didn’t in that back alley way when he met Bucky for the first time, and he wasn’t going to let these Vita Rays and serum take him out either. Letting out a bellow of pain, Steve slumped forward once the ray was turned off. Gasping for breath, Steve looked around and saw that the room was in shambles.

 

“Wha-what happened?” He cleared his throat, to prevent the worry from bubbling out.

 

“An assassin came in while the procedure was running. We fought him off, but Doctor Erskine was killed.” Colonel Phillips sighed, “and he never wrote down the formula for the serum either.”

 

“Did you capture the person responsible?” Steve frowned at how deep his voice had gotten and he was leery of moving forward until he regained his equilibrium in this new body.

 

“Yes, not that it helps. They yelled out ‘Heil Hydra’ and took a suicide pill.” Phillips looked at the dead body of the assassin.

 

Steve slowly stepped out of the machine and looked around. He heard a gasp and turned to look. Peggy and Howard were looking at him in awe and Steve felt confused. Looking down at himself Steve was surprised at how much he had changed. For a brief moment he was glad that he had such loose clothing, otherwise he would have been naked. Taking a few tentative steps forward, Steve heard the Colonel sigh.

 

“Now here comes the fun part soldier.” Steve turned to look at his superior officer, “now we get to train you to see what your body can do.”

 

Steve nodded and felt a shiver pass through him. For some reason those words were much more ominous than how they were uttered. He had a feeling that he would be cursing out the Colonel and his trainers in his mind as he got used to his new body. On top of that, he would need to keep an eye out for Mr. Stark. He had a feeling that the man would do everything in his power to keep Steve, or even have him test things that should probably not be tested.

 

Following in step with the Colonel, Steve, Peggy and Howard stepped from Doctor Erskine’s now destroyed lab and made their way to the vehicles. The sooner that they got Steve Rogers trained, the faster they could get help out to the men on the front lines.


	5. Chapter 4

**_ June 6, 1944 _ **

**__ **

Steve ducked the volley of bullets and hit another Hydra soldier in the face with his shield before picking the semi-automatic weapon off the floor and providing his Commandos cover fire. He couldn’t believe that he had been out on the front lines for four years now. It felt like yesterday that he was chosen for Project Rebirth, as he eventually found out the name for the procedure that the late Doctor had done to him. He still remembered how the upper brass had tried to make him a dancing monkey to get poor saps to join in the war effort. When he told Peggy and Howard about his plans to help the war effort on the front lines, he remembered the respect in their eyes. With their help and some careful maneuvering, he made his way to the front line with nothing but the shield Howard had made him, as well as a semi-automatic with only three reloads. He did all of it to save Bucky and the other men that were being held captive by Hydra. The brass had refused to save them, so he decided to save them himself. The look on their faces when he came barreling through the soldiers that had them lined up for the execution was amusing, until they got with the program to fight back.

 

_Bucky was shocked at seeing someone barreling through the Hydra soldiers that held the eight of them captive. The Red, White and Blue outfit was catching, yet subtle as the man physically beat back the would-be executioners, with a shield of all things, before tossing a few weapons their way. Blinking quickly, Bucky grabbed the semi-automatic before firing on the Hydra soldiers that had experimented on him during his stay with them. It was only after the fighting stopped, and the enemy dead, did Bucky see the bright blue eyes and the sheepish grin that was always on Steve’s face when he did something especially foolhardy._

_“Punk?” He didn’t dare hope that he would see his intended until their String snapped into place._

_“Hey Buck, I promised until the end of the line, and I ain’t giving up on you yet.” The blinding smile that Bucky sent his way was all the reward that Steve had needed for doing this._

_“Well, then help us outta here and I’ll beat you later for this stunt. Also, you will be telling me what you did to yourself to get that big.” Steve snorted and ducked the next volley of bullets._

_“Sure thing Buck. Let’s get all of you to the nearest outpost after we deal with this base, and once medical lets you out, I’ll tell you everything.”_

 

Turning he gunned down two more Hydra soldiers, to open the area for Bucky to get back to them from his hidden position inside the base. When he found out that Bucky was an infiltration specialist, he was both horrified and intrigued. After asking what it meant, he went from horrified to proud and went from intrigued to pleasantly pleased. It didn’t take long for Steve, as a Captain, to get Bucky and the men he had saved under his leadership, before presenting his Howling Commandos to Colonel Phillips for duty. The Colonel smirked and said that they had three weeks to function as a proper unit, and then they would be sent out on manoeuvers to relieve the stress of the war on the other three fronts. His men would be going after Hydra, and when he told them this, the vindictive smiles that were sent his way, pleased Steve to no end.

 

Sending a trio of grenades at the soldiers firing at him, Steve smirked upon hearing the signal that told him Bucky was out. Sending out the answering signal to blow the base up, Steve and his men began to make their way out of the base quickly. It didn’t take long for the Strings to start showing for the other men under his command, and Steve took great pleasure in ensuring that his Commandos stayed with him both on and off the battle zone. He also spent as much time as he could with Bucky, so that they could both figure out what had been done to him when he was injected with the serum and then hit with Vita Rays. He was faster, stronger, and more durable than before. Also, he no longer was plagued by any of the illness he had; it was like he was in perfect shape. The only downside they found was that he needed more food if he was fighting for a longer period of time. That was something they could deal with, as more often than not, they could steal the food from the Hydra bases that they were taking out.

 

_“What did they do to you Punk?” Bucky said as he looked Steve over critically as he drank in his physically changed intended._

_“I did what needed to be done to get out here to help you. Though, they did try to make me a dancing monkey Buck, so I got out of that show and tell to get you out of that hell-hole.” Steve shrugged; all that mattered to him was that Bucky was safe and alive. Bucky was silent for a moment as he drank Steve in and gave him an assessing look._

_“Well, do you know how to fight properly in this new body that you got to free me?” Steve ducked his head sheepishly and looked up._

_“Not really; Colonel Phillips started my training then he was told that the Project was to be dismantled due to the loss of the serum. A Senator decided to step in, but they just wanted a promotional piece. So, I just did what I knew, and conned the senator until I was able to escape with the help of two people. Can you help me figure this all out?” Bucky smirked and looked Steve over with an exaggerated leer._

_“Oh, I’ll help you out alright Stevie. You just might get a bit more than fighting tips though.” Steve blushed a bright red at the teasing, and chased Bucky out of the tent to the laughter of his lover._

 

Making it far enough from the base, Steve let Dum-Dum press the detonator switch. Each of them let out a soft cheer as a large ball of flame shot into the sky. Looking over at Bucky, he saw the bag of food and weapons and smirked. Most of the weapons were being sent to the men at the front lines, but he was always hearing Howard complain about the military taking away the guns he was experimenting on, so that he could see about either destroying them or remaking them for the troops. Peggy had simply smirked at the frustrations that Howard was showing.

 

Steve was please that she got along just as well with the Commandos, especially when she gave the men tips on the best places to set up explosives for the bases that they pillaged. Colonel Phillips would always give the men a few days before sending them back out, and the soldiers that were stationed at the base were always happy when they came back with an extra bag or two to share around. It gave them an excuse to celebrate another allied win, as well as encouraged them for when they fought their own battles.

 

“Hey Cap, we double timing it back, or being extra cautious?” asked Bucky.

 

“We’ll be cautious for now, we’ll double time back tomorrow morning.” Steve decided after looking at the darkening sky.

 

“Cap, there was a cave about five miles back. If we get there, we’ll have bit of extra shelter for the night.” One of the men spoke up with a soft French accent.

 

Nodding, Steve had the men start the trek back to the cave that his Frenchman, Jacques, spoke about. It would give him a chance to assess his men and see who needed immediate medical care, and what type of injuries they sustained. His soldiers were as stubborn as him, but without the benefits of his healing.

 

Three hours later, they arrived at the cave that Jacques had spotted on their way up, simply due to the extra vigilance they needed while moving through the bush and open fields. Upon settling in, Steve quickly checks over his men before having the two with the least amount of injuries to head out and get some wood. He knows that they will also do a quick patrol of the area out of the cave, if only as a precaution. With that task set, Steve pulled out the field kit he had on him and began to dress the wounds on his men. Bucky, being the least injured of those that remained in the cave, was his assistant as they patched up what they could of the injures sustained. They would keep an extra eye on their Major, as his wounds were the worst, though they were not life threatening as of yet. Giving the Major a spare blanket and a few extra rations, Bucky and Steve began to lay down a few blankets and tarps to keep their presence hidden from the enemy, as well as keep the ground from stealing too much of their heat. Spotting the pair that came back from their wood patrol, Bucky began to get a small fire pit started so that they could have a small amount of heat and light.

 

“Bucky, did you notice anything odd when you were entering the base?” Steve figured he could start his debrief now as they were far enough from the base, and in a safer location.

 

“Yeah, something about Red Skull finding something nasty for the Allied forces,” Bucky frowned as he began to recall the specifics. “One of the men was muttering about the Red Skull having found a cube that unleashed a great and nasty power to another. When he was questioned about it, the one talking about it shuddered and mentioned that he was stationed temporarily at the base where the Skull was, and was forced to watch the procedures that were done to the prisoners. Apparently, it wasn’t pretty.”

 

“How was it not pretty?” Bucky looked over at one of the commandos and made a face.

 

“They apparently turned inside out before exploding in a shower of blood.”

 

The men shuddered and Steve glared at the fire. The Red Skull was the leader of the Hydra fanatics and he was the reason that Steve and Bucky were still fighting in this war. He had a scientist names Zola who was just as smart as Howard Stark on his side, but much more insane and evil than the inventor could ever hope to be. The Hydra soldiers that they encountered didn’t care if they died; their leaders had plans that held plans that held even more plans. They acted like the mythical beast that they named themselves after; where one head was cut out two more took its place.

 

“Anything else stood out from your tour of the newest crater?” One of the other men asked to get their minds off the idea of such a horrible and senseless death.

 

“Yeah, they had a lot of extra ammo laying around for some reason. Can we go through it before we get back, something about the stock pile they had is bugging me.”

 

The bag was tossed over and they went through everything, looking over each bullet and magazine before one of the men made a startled noise.

 

“Cap, look at this!” He held out the bullet box and Steve hissed at what he saw. Inside the box was a hidden bottom, one that held a small pressure bomb that would cause a massive explosion.

 

“We can leave this one behind. I’d rather not give this to one of the men and have it kill them or destroy the base if they decided to use it in an emergency.”

 

Dum-Dum nodded and snuck out of the cave and tossed it into the small stream nearby. He made sure it landed as if it had fallen out of a bag or was dropped when loading a weapon before hiding his tracks going back to the cave. He got a smirk and an extra ration bar as a reward for his troubles.

 

“So, what’s the plan when we get back to base?” Jacques asked as he flicked the lid of his Zippo.

 

“Two days down time for each of you. I’ll be working on finding out why the bases are set up the way they are.” Steve rubs the back of his neck in frustration. Their rations began to be passed around, and they made sure that Steve had more food than them this time, as he skipped breakfast for a debriefing.

 

“Well, it’s not a box or spiral pattern. When we get to the base, I’ll look at the map with ya Steve; you know that patterns are a thing for me.” Bucky winked before digging into his meal.

 

“Yeah, Barnes knows patterns well; he found all of the holes in our defensive grid at the 107th and sniped out a few assholes when they tried to sneak into the compound. This was about a week before we got captured.” The Major spoke up for the first time since they got into the cave.

 

“If you want to look at boring maps with me, I don’t mind.” Steve gave them all a bashful smile.

 

“Cap, I’d rather look at a map to figure this out with you than to get drunker than a sailor on shore leave.” Dum-Dum mentioned seriously, and the others nodded.

 

“Sides, it’s always better to have more than one set of eyes to look something over.”

 

“Alright,” Steve agreed readily. “When we get back, we’ll pull out the maps and plot out the bases. Once we figure out this puzzle, if we have time afterwards, we’ll all go out to one of the bars for a drink.”

 

They cheered quietly, and began to set up the rotation for the night watch. It wouldn’t do to be captured after blowing up a hydra base. Colonel Phillips would never let them hear the end of it.

 

* * *

 

They made it back to base in record time, once they cleared the cave that they hid in for the night. With the idea that the bases spelled out something significant, the Howling Commandos began to pour over the placement of the bases and marked them on the map as Steve got debriefed by Colonel Phillips. So far, everything was going well for the team, but he, Peggy and Howard all felt that something was about to happen and it would change everything.

 

“That’s creepy,” Bucky was looking at the map from the other end of the room as he came back with snacks for everyone.

 

“What is Barnes?” Jacques turned to look at a pale Bucky. “You okay?”

 

“All of you come here and look at the map, and tell me what you see.”

 

“Shit”

 

“No way”

 

“Mon Dieu!”

 

“Good Lord!”

 

“What’s wro – oh my…” Steve jogged into the room at a quicker pace upon hearing the exclamations before he looked at the wall with the map. “It makes a skull, with a star embedded in the forehead.”

 

“Geez Steve. I’m going to assume that the main base is the last point of that star.” Bucky pointed to the only red dot on the map.

 

“Then we need to deal with that base, and find out more about this cube that you heard the guards talking about.”

 

“Think that might be a trap?”

 

Steve looked each of the men over and sighed before squaring his shoulders in determination.

 

“I want each of you to think about this next mission we will be on.” Steve held up a hand to keep them quiet as he spoke. “This mission will be the toughest one yet. We have reason to believe that the Red Skull is at the last base, as well as Dr. Zola, his main scientist. This mission will not be like the others, we can’t infiltrate the base due to the security they have, so we will be storming the castle. To get there, we will need to sneak onto a train that is the only way to reach this base. Once inside, we will free who we can, and stop the heart of Hydra. If you do not want in on this mission, please, let either me or Colonel Phillips know. You will not be penalized for dropping out of this mission, nor will any disciplinary action be doled upon you either.”

 

The men looked at Steve as if he was insane and Jacques spoke up.

 

“You have a saying with Sergeant Barnes about the end of the line, oui?”

 

Steve and Bucky both nodded and Dum-Dum continued from there.

 

“Then we will be with you until the end, whichever way that comes. We followed you out of hell four years ago, and we will follow you back in to clear it out once and for all.”

 

Steve smiled softly and gave each of his men a back slapping hug.

 

“I am honoured that all of you will follow me into this last base. We will enjoy our last day of leave, and then the morning after next, we will head out.”

 

Steve smiled as his commandos dispersed to get ready for the night out, and he stood with Bucky.

 

“You’ve done a great thing with us Punk. We owe you our lives, and each of us will be with you until the end of the line.” Steve sniffled a bit and wrapped Bucky into a bone crushing hug, holding on as he finally got to let someone else be strong, just for a moment, before letting go with a watery smile.

 

“Come on Buck, maybe we can find a bar with good music and we can show the boys what dancing is all about.”

 

Laughing, they got ready for their night out on the town with their fellow soldiers, hoping for one last night of fun, and praying that they would get home safely.


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peggy and Dugan tell Tony the story about how both Captain Steve Rogers and Sergeant James Barnes went missing.

**_ March 20, 1985 _ **

 

God, he hated his birthday. The only thing that made today bearable was Jarvis and Rhodney. His father was out looking for Steve Rogers, or Captain America as history wrote him, and his mother was out working her charity balls. Luckily he was fifteen this year, and that gave him a bit of leeway with Jarvis when it came to what he wanted to do. He didn’t want a party, nor did he want to go anywhere specific. He just wanted to spend a day with Jarvis, Rhodney, his Aunt Peggy and Uncle Dugan. He wanted to be with people who wanted to be around him, and not someone who was there on his parents orders or even to get an in with the Stark’s.

 

For as long as he could remember his parents were indifferent to him unless he tried to get their attention. However, when he did get their attention, it was never pleasant. A smack to the face, locked in a closet until Jarvis found him, or, if he was showing his father a new invention of his, he would be forced to take it apart and fix it to his father’s standards. It didn’t take him very long to stop aiming for his parents’ approval, and started going to Jarvis, Aunt Peggy or Uncle Dugan to get theirs instead. He was always careful to never show just how much their visits meant to him or his parents might stop them from visiting altogether.

 

He knows now that his parents resented the two heart markings that he had on either side of his neck, in the hollows of his throat. He never understood why he had to hide them until he realized that his parents were trying to make him feel ashamed that he had two people that completed him. His Aunt Peggy and Uncle Dugan were very cautious when they explained that his two markings made him very special, and began to tell him all about Captain Steve Rogers and Sergeant James “Bucky” Barnes and their connection, as a way to show Tony that the markings were a boon and not a disgrace.

 

When the proof of his genius came out, Tony continued to fly through elementary and high school, as nothing the teachers gave him challenged him. That changed when he hit his fourteenth birthday last year, and was accepted into MIT. He jumped at the chance to get away from his parents and their passive-aggressive neglect. He managed to con his parents into getting Jarvis to move out to the west coast with him, and he was even more pleased that both his aunt and uncle would be closer to him now that he was away from the house in New York. It made not having to live in the dorms easier as he was too young to live by himself, and he didn’t want to feel unsafe in such a strange city.

 

Meeting James Rhodes was an interesting experience for Tony. The older boy had seen Tony trekking around campus with his bag and saw how a few people were looking at the then fourteen year old with distain. He had decided to defend Tony when a small group from a very prominent fraternity came to bother the younger boy. At first Tony was a little miffed at Rhodney’s interference, but when he found out exactly what the members of that frat wanted to do to him he freaked out. He had no desire to be treated like a toy due to his lack of completed markings nor did he wish to indulge in anything that he knew was illegal for those underage; he clung to Rhodes with such a desperate gratitude that he dragged him back to the house that he was staying with Jarvis. They hadn’t separated since. Soon, a braided String bound them, calming Tony down, in a way that only Jarvis understood, and stopped the majority of the harassment he had received from the other students and professors.

 

“Hey Tony, your aunt and uncle just showed up.” Rhodney poked his head into Tony’s room and smiled at the excited scramble that followed. He held back a chuckle as Tony pounced his uncle and gave his aunt a kiss on the cheek. Since all Tony talked about, family wise, was his aunt, uncle and Jarvis, Rhodes figured that either his parents were gone, or better off not being near him.

 

“I can’t believe you’re already here! Weren’t you on the other side of the country only this morning?” Tony bounced in place for a moment as he helped the pair with their bags before taking them to the spare bedrooms.

 

“We left early this morning. We were going to meet with a few people up in New York, but we chose to cut our trip short and come down to visit you sooner.”

 

“Father was where you wanted to go visit, wasn’t he.” Tony’s voice was flat, and Peggy nodded.

 

“Yes, we chose to avoid him than to get in an argument that would hurt you more in the long run.” Dum-Dum clapped his hands and smirked at the small gathering. “Now, where shall we go for a quick bite to eat before we start the festivities?”

 

“There is an awesome new restaurant that opened not that far from here. Lots of my classmates have been there and they loved the food and the atmosphere.”

 

“Then let’s head out. I’m starved.” Peggy rolled her eyes at Dugan’s antics

 

“You’re always starved Dugan.” He shrugged sheepishly before smirking.

 

“All food is good food, unless I can’t have any.”

 

“We could always leave you here Uncle Dugan.” Tony spoke up with an innocent look on his face.

 

“But, why? I’ve been good!” He clasped his hand dramatically over his heart.

 

“Has he been good Aunt Peggy?” Peggy made a show of thinking it over causing Dum-Dum to pout.

 

“Yes, he’s been good.” She relented with a smirk at her fellow Commando.

 

“Then you can come Uncle. But you have to pay!” Tony dashed out of the house with a laugh as Dugan spluttered.

 

“Why do I have to pay?” Dugan whined at Peggy softly as to not spoil Tony’s fun.

 

“He’s the birthday boy, so you know that he decides.”

 

“Alright then,” He shrugged and slung an arm around Tony’s shoulder once they caught up to the younger man outside. “You leading the way James?”

 

Tony basked in the love and affection he felt from his small group and enjoyed the outing so much that he almost forgot to ask for his traditional story about Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes when they got back to the apartment.

 

“So, you’ve told me everything up to the skull on the map, what happened next?” Tony asked, and was confused at the sadness that appeared on Peggy and Dugan’s faces.

 

“Well, I’ll start this one Peggy, as I was with them when it happened.” Dugan nodded his thanks at Jarvis for the tall glass of water as he turned to Tony and James.

 

“The mission was going to be our most difficult to date. Normally Sergeant Barnes would sneak in and plant explosives in strategic places while we stormed the front. This time, we couldn’t do that as the base was too fortified. So, we had to sneak onto the only means to access the base, and that was by train. This train went over a low mountain range, so we had to be extra cautious. We managed to get onto the train with no problems, but at one point during the ride over the bridge, we were found out.”

 

Dugan paused to drink some of his water and looked up at the two boys with a sad smile.

 

“We fought the Hydra soldiers and we were winning. At one point the side of the car we were in had a hole blown into it, but none of us fell. Just as the fight came to an end, Sergeant Barnes had picked up Captain Rogers’ Shield, that he had dropped at one point, and was about to give it back when we heard a shot. He had blocked the bullet with the shield, but the momentum pushed him back just enough and he tripped out of the hole in the side of the train. He had dropped the shield upon the reflection, but he was off balance and couldn’t hold onto the side of the train for very long. The Captain missed his hand by less than an inch, and we all watched as Sergeant Barnes fell into the cavern below. None of us believed that he was dead, because our Strings that tie us to him were still a vibrant Red.”

 

Tony dashed forward and curled around his Uncle. He knew that something had happened to both the Captain and the Sergeant, but to hear that it was a lucky shot that got Sergeant Barnes made it all that much worse. He could only imagine the guilt that the Captain felt upon seeing his friend fall like that, but still know that he was alive and that he had to leave him behind.

 

“What happened in the base once you infiltrated it?” Rhodney asked quietly as he paid his silent respects to the still missing Sergeant. Dugan hugged Tony to him and took another sip of water.

 

“You have to realize that Captain Rogers was swimming in guilt and anger at this point. So, when we entered the base, he just started attacking any Hydra soldier that we saw. We managed to get a few soldiers captured so that they could be interrogated back at the base, but we didn’t get that many. With the Captain’s anger making him act like a tank, we got to the control centre just as the Red Skull was ordering his men to prepare the final gift for the America’s.

 

“He began to taunt the good Captain, but he was much too angry to banter back, and began a strong offensive attack on the Red Skull. Took him by surprise, but it gave us a chance to try and stop the present that he wanted to send. I swear, to this day, that the Captain moved so fast that he blurred, and even though the fight was short, it was long enough for the Hydra soldiers to shut off the remote access from the bases console.” Dugan sighed and paused for a moment to collect his thoughts.

 

“The Captain ended the Red Skull, considering it is hard to survive without a head, and watched as a plane made its way to the hanger door. He began to run, and managed to hop inside before it began to taxi on the runway. We never saw him again, as we were securing the base for the rest of our camp to take over.”

 

“We got to the base just as we saw a plane take off, and thought that the Red Skull had managed to escape. At least we thought that until we saw his dead body in the middle of the floor. We let Dugan and the rest of the fighting Commando’s to head out, when they mentioned that they needed to find someone since we were there to take over the base. We didn’t know until they came back that they had doubled back to look for Sergeant Barnes so that he could get medical assistance for his fall from the train.” Peggy continued the story and also thanked Jarvis for the glass of water.

 

“We heard the Captain calling us on the radio, and he told us that the plane was headed to New York with a live Nuclear Warhead. He wanted to know if we could find a way disarm it, as he was trying to fix the programing of the plane. Howard began to work right away, and one of the Hydra soldiers that was dying began to laugh. He said that they destroyed the remote access, and it would take too long to fix it before the plane crashed or ran out of fuel.” Peggy took a sip of water with a shaking hand and Rhodney moved to sit beside her to give her a hug.

 

“Steve hear the soldier and told us that he managed to stop the auto-pilot and was going to crash the plane in the artic. He asked us to please come and get him, because he had always hated the cold. Howard promised him that he would go and get him personally, making Steve laugh and thank him. So, we assume that about ten minutes before the plane crashed he parachuted out, but we never found his body. Howard has been looking ever since.” Tony looked at Peggy with a dawning expression and turned to Dugan.

 

“Did you know that Father promised that?” Dugan shook his head.

 

“All I know is that he had taken the search for the Captain personally, especially since we came back from our trek to find the Sergeant empty handed.”

 

“So, both the Captain and the Sergeant are missing, and have been missing since 1944?” Rhodney asked in confusion.

 

“Yes, and we Howling Commandos began to switch the SSR to a new organization. But, that will be a story for after you are both over twenty years old.” Peggy declared, giving Dugan a stern look.

 

The two agreed and continued to enjoy their day with Peggy and Dugan. Only Jarvis saw the determination in Tony’s eyes, and knew that the young man would be going to see his father later that day and offer what little help he could. He hoped that Master Stark would not shoot down his son’s peace offering, and would begin to work at repairing their strained relationship. He would, however, be prepared for any fall out that would cause the young Master emotional and physical harm.


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Words are said upon meeting that will change everything.

**_ 2009 _ **

 

“Sir, I’ve detected movement attached to the sealed S.S.R. files for Captain Rogers.” The disembodied voice cut through the screaming music causing Tony to look up from his welding and turn off his torch.

 

“Where?” He began to move around and close up several projects.

 

“S.H.I.E.L.D. Sir, do you wish to head out immediately?” He paused to think about it for a moment before shaking his head, and resumed in his self appointed tasks.

 

“No, but inform Aunt Peggy and Uncle Dugan about this though. Ask them if they can perform a pop inspection of the carrier, and then call me to let me know if they need me up there. Also, let Pepper know that I may be heading out shortly and that if she needs me, I will have my phone on me.”

 

“Of course Sir. Shall I start a shower for you?” Tony looked down at his grease stained clothing and nodded.

 

“Please J, I want to show my best side.”

 

“Of course Sir, shall I pack the portable suit?”

 

“Yeah, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

 

Tony quickly saved the last pieces in his projects and began to get ready for his Aunt Peggy to call. Jumping into the shower, he quickly washed off and began to dress. He felt that something was going to change, but he wasn’t sure what it was yet. His right Marking was itching; this distracted him enough to miss the signs that someone was attacking J.A.R.V.I.S.

 

“Sir!” Tony looked up and glared at the door as he finished buttoning up his shirt. Seeing Agent Coulson walk in calmly just pissed him off that much more.

 

“Can I help you Agent? It must be very important for me to know, considering you attacked J.A.R.V.I.S.” Tony’s voice was as frigid as the arctic waters that Captain America was just pulled from, and Agent Coulson internally winced, knowing that Fury had, once again, pissed off Tony. If this continued, it just might hurt them in the long run.

 

“I apologize for the forced entry Mr. Stark, but there is a situation that S.H.I.E.L.D. needs your immediate assistance with.” He placed a set of folders on the table, knowing, and understanding, Tony’s fear of taking something from someone’s hand after what Stane had done after Afganistan.

 

“Oh, and just what do you need _my_ assistance for? I believe that I was told that _my_ assistance was not needed, just that of my suits, and even then, they wanted someone _else_ in them.” Tony kept his icy stare upon Agent Coulson as the documents were scanned for any harmful traces.

 

“Earlier today we uncovered Captain Steve Rogers from the Arctic ice; shockingly, he is alive.” Coulson decided to be blunt about what was found, knowing that he had been looking as well. Tony held back his snort of derision. He knew that the Captain was alive because he saw the vibrant red Strings on his Aunt and Uncle’s hands.

 

“Tell me something I don’t know Agent.” Coulson nodded and shifted minutely enough so that he could brace himself if he needed cover.

 

“We are starting up the Avengers Initiative and we need your help.” Tony paused. Letting all expression leave his face, he stared dispassionately at Agent Coulson.

 

“Ah, you need Iron Man.” Agent Coulson shook his head before Tony was even finished speaking.

 

“Iron Man would be useful, I will never deny that, but we need you, Tony Stark, and your engineering skills. Something is off on the carrier, and while Fury has to follow the IWC, I, personally, know that you will be the best one to fix it.”

 

Tony assessed the agent in front of him. He knew that Agent Coulson did not favour the way that Director Fury had dealt with him in the past. But, he kept working in the organization that did everything it could to get in your business. However, he could be staying in to fix what was mishandled by Fury and several others. Making a snap decision, he decided to go up with the man.

 

“Give me five minutes Agent Coulson. I have a few things to get and save before I can leave with you.” He held back a smirk at the surprised look, but was also a bit shocked at seeing the naked relief in the man’s eyes. This would bear extra caution and information.

 

“J, Daddy needs to leave, make sure you scour the carrier and send the updates to my phone. Agent is acting oddly, and I want to know why.”

 

“Of course Sir. Your portable suit is ready, and I added the feature that you need to activate it with both voice and biological data as so that S.H.I.E.L.D. cannot lay claim to it.”

 

“Daddy loves your genius J. Let the others know where I am.” Tony walked out and saw that Agent hadn’t moved.

 

“Hope you weren’t waiting long Agent. We can head on out now.” Snagging the folders off the table, Tony lead Coulson to the elevator.

 

“Mr. Stark, I wish to apologize for the heavy-handedness that the Director has forced you to endure. I realize that apology words can be empty handed, therefore if you pass on the codes on the folder that you are holding to your computer, you will have many more doors open for your searches and queries.” Looking away, he was glad that he began to hear Tony rattle off his personal passwords and security codes to J.A.R.V.I.S.

 

Making their way over to the quint-jet, Tony began to quickly read through the files that were given to him.

 

“So, what is it that needs fixing?”

 

“I recently found a few things on the carrier that need to have a very loud and yet discreet look.” Tony gave Coulson a flat stare from over the top of one of the files.

 

“Good thing that Aunt Peggy and Uncle Dugan are doing a pop inspection then, right?” Agent Coulson paused before chuckling.

 

“I assume that you already knew about something and had them pop in.” Tony gave a smug smirk before going back to his files for the rest of the short flight.

 

Landing on the carrier, Tony followed Coulson around to where everyone was meeting. Scanning over everyone, he spotted his Aunt and Uncle glaring at Fury, making his entrance just that much better.

 

“Aunt Peggy, Uncle Dugan, it is good to see you. What brings you to this flying den of inquiry?” He walked over and gave them both a hug and he hid a wince in his uncle’s arm at the intensified itching on his neck.

 

“It seems that someone was going to hide _our_ Commander from us.” The frigid note in his aunt’s tone made even Tony wince. Fury was going to have to answer a lot of questions, and Tony would enjoy every moment of discomfort the Director had.

 

“Well, I’m sure you explained, in very small words, about why that was just bad manners. Now, Dr. Banner, I’m a fan of your work on genetics and gamma radiation, I’m also especially fond of how you turn big, green and ragey.” Tony turned to the doctor that was standing in the corner, away from everyone, but still protected by his aunt and uncle.

 

Before much more could be said, a tall man burst into the room. His sandy blonde hair made his face stick out more as he assessed everyone in the room. His eyes latched onto the glowing and twining red Strings that attached to Peggy and Dugan before darting forward and pulling both into a tight hug. Tony admired his strength for a moment before he noticed the fine tremors in the man’s body.

 

“Well, I am positive that we have work to do while the Captain reconnects with his team.” Coulson nodded to the agent with bright red hair, and he also gave Fury a warning look.

 

“So, Bruce, can I call you Bruce, what were you working on, and please show me.” Tony ushered the shocked scientist out of the room and gave Fury a smug smile upon passing him. His Aunt and Uncle deserved to have a moment with the Captain before he was forced to deal with too many others.

 

“Your aunt and uncle was standing up for me to Fury. Will they get in trouble?” Bruce’s voice was worried and Tony shook his head.

 

“Nope. Aunt Peggy and Uncle Dugan have authority over Fury. They rarely use it though, because they both hate politics.” Tony mentioned absentmindedly as he set himself up at a computer in the doctor’s lab. J.A.R.V.I.S. began sending him status updates making Tony frown. He left a command to have all the information to be stored on a spare hard drive back at the tower so he could look it over later.

 

“So, what have you been working on that has so many people nervous?” Tony leaned over the other man’s shoulder.

 

“They found an odd energy source, and want me to set up a special tracking system.”

 

“Why, do they want to turn it into a weapon or something?” The Doctor simply looked confused.

 

“He just mentioned an energy source.” Tony shook his head and sighed.

 

“Ah, but Fury is a lying liar that lies. Never take anything he says literally. He would most likely die if he told the absolute truth.”

 

“Yes, he most likely would Tony, now come and meet Captain Rogers.” Peggy’s amused voice flowed around them.

 

“Steve, I’d like you to meet my nephew, Tony Stark. He’s been following Howard’s wishes to find you.” Tony stuck out a hand.

 

“It’s an honor to meet you Captain, Aunt Peggy and Uncle Dugan always had the most interesting stories about you.” Tony and Steve both sucked in a deep breath as their Markings filled upon their hands connecting.

 

Tony stared at Steve with wide eyes, one of his soul-mates was the Captain. He looked at Steve’s hand and saw the intricate braided String. He had the oddest feeling that the person on the other side of that braid was his other soul-mate.

 

Steve gasped and looked at Peggy’s nephew. He saw two Heart markings and one of them slowly filled. He didn’t want to deal with this right now, he just woke up, seventy years later, and Bucky was still missing.

 

“Not yet, please, I need to find him first before I can deal with this.” Steve’s words were quiet but Tony heard them all the same. He stifled the hurt that bloomed in his chest and the flinch from the innocent words. Slowly letting go of his first Heart-mate’s hand, Tony flashed a very insincere and brittle smile.

 

“Well, I need to go over some data with Bruce. Aunt Peggy, Uncle Dugan, Captain, we will meet up with you later to discuss our findings.” With that Tony turned around missing the glare that Steve got from Peggy and Dugan.

 

Dragging Steve out of the room, he waited until he was far enough away before he turned to his last link to the war.

 

“I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. I need to find Bucky to see if he fills that second Heart. Ma always said that braided Strings like mine and Bucky’s came with a reward after trials. I need find Bucky so that we know if we need to find Tony’s other match or if we already know them.” Peggy sighed and the anger seemed to just drain out of her.

 

“That may be true Steve, but Tony’s life was no picnic either. Having you say that right as you met will leave him now continuously wondering if you really want him.” Steve looked at her in shock.

 

“What?! Why would he think that?” The flabbergasted look on Steve’s face reminded both Peggy and Dugan quite sharply about how much he had missed over the years.

 

“Steve, he may have Howard’s money, but Howard and he only had a non-hostile relationship from just after Tony’s fifteenth birthday to his twenty first. Before that, Howard simply married the first woman that met his standards and had a child. Howard, at first, was jealous of both Tony’s marks, and later was just indifferent to them. It took Tony reaching out at fifteen for Howard to see just what he was missing in his son.” Dugan said softly as they slowly walked back to the briefing room. Steve nodded and squared his shoulders.

 

“Well, no one ever said that anything worth fixing was easy.” Steve said and he looked over at Tony chatting with Bruce and Agent Coulson.

 

He hurt the one person he shouldn’t have by accident, and he would fix it. The small conversation with Peggy and Dugan proved that his Heart Marking was a fact that he could be happy without Bucky. But, he just knew that Bucky was that other Mark, and he would prove to Tony that he is not just a filler. He’s had easier tasks, but this one would be worth it.


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Tony encounter Thor and learn a terrible secret.

**_ Meeting Thor _ **

 

Tony watched in horrified awe as Steve held his ground when the meta-human named Thor slammed his hammer down on his shield. He knew that his dad had used vibarium to make it, but seeing the proof of it made the situation a whole different matter. He wanted a closer look at that shield, but was still leery of talking to Steve after the whispered words from their introduction. He knew that Steve probably didn’t mean them the way he thought, but it still felt like a rejection.

 

“Well, now that we had that contest, can we take reindeer games back to the carrier?” Tony was glad that his voice came out modulated, and that neither of them would be able to hear the nervousness or shock in his voice.

 

“Aye we shall take him to your fortress in the air, Man of Iron. There is much that needs to be done before we can undo his trickery upon your comrades.” Thor bellowed as the quint-jet flew into the destroyed clearing and landed next to Steve.

 

“Did you have to destroy this entire area of the forest?” Came the bland tones of the red haired agent that was in the meeting room earlier.

 

“Not our fault that Point Break and Reindeer Games have a history for busting things.” Tony shrugged and watched the woman carefully. He still hasn’t forgiven or forgotten the fact that she injected him with some concoction on Fury’s orders.

 

“Good, then let’s get Loki back to the carrier, I want a few words with him.”

 

“Considering all he has been doing is giggling, I’m not sure you will get a whole lot of information from him.” Steve waved his hand at the said man, and watched as Thor frowned.

 

“He does not speak? Not even in riddles?”

 

“He just laughs and sneers. I haven’t heard him speak since we’ve been in contact with him.” Steve mentions off handedly as he watches Thor while Tony brings Loki into the jet. The reaction he got upon mentioning that their prisoner does not speak was unexpected. It would bear even more attention once he could pick Peggy and Dugan’s brains.

 

“Come with us, you may be able to shed so light onto the situation.”

 

“Aye, I shall leave with you warriors. I will need to reflect on my last meeting with Loki before anything may be determined.”

 

“As long as you find out how we can get our stolen men back, then we hope you can find what you need before it is too late.”

 

Thor sat in the jet across from Loki and frowned at the gleeful silence that the other was showing. Something felt off about his brother and he turned to the ones that battled him.

 

“Where did he collect the staff that he holds?”

 

“He always had it.” Tony mentioned absently. “When we looked back on the video feeds from when he took over fellow soldiers and scientists, he already had the staff with him. Actually, he used it to control them.”

 

Thor frowned and looked closer at the silent imposter and darted forward to poke at the skin just below his eyes.

 

“Why are his eyes blue?” Steve looked at Thor in confusion in regards to the question.

 

“What do you mean ‘why are his eyes blue’?”

 

“Loki’s eyes are green.” Tony stilled and sat closer to Steve at that revelation.

 

“The controlled agents’ eyes turned a bright blue upon having that staff poke them. So that staff may be controlling him as well; we’ll need a special case for it then so that no one else can be mind controlled.”

 

“Fury will have one waiting for us when we land.” The pilot spoke up quietly, causing Tony to twitch at her silent presence.

 

“Good, maybe he can finally be useful instead of just secretive them.”

 

Steve snorted and gave Tony a wiry grin. He knew exactly what the scientist meant, and it gave him hope that he could fix the mis-step he had done earlier.

 

“Stark, I wish to speak with you later to clarify my statement to you earlier.” Peggy told him that Tony did not do apologies, so clarification was the best way to state it.

 

“That’s not necessary Cap. You were pretty clear with your words.” Tony was able to keep his tone light, as to hide the hurt.

 

“I did not mean to imply that I did not want you, it is that I believe that I know you your other Mark is. If it is who I think it is, I don’t wish to start anything until all three of us are together. I still want to get to know you, but before we go anywhere else in the relationships we choose, I would prefer to wait for your third.” Steve tried not to sound like he was pleading, but he desperately wanted Tony to understand.

 

“What do you mean you might know who my other Mark is for?” Tony stood as the plane landed and shook his head. “Never mind, we will talk about this later Captain.”

 

Stalking off the plane, Tony grabbed the case that they had prepared for the staff and he scoffed.

 

“This will let any kind of radiation leak through. My God, don’t you know anything about how energy travels or even how dangerous this scepter is?!” Tony stalked towards the entrance to the carrier and looked back at the others.

 

“Get that staff wrapped and don’t touch it if you can help it. I’ll be right back with a proper container.”

 

Steve shrugged and found a few wool blankets to wrap the scepter in. He was also cautious to not touch it with his skin or even his costume. The idea that something could control a person to that level terrified Steve. It reminded him too much of rape and he refused to watch anyone go through the pain of not being in total control of themselves.

 

“Stark will find the best material to stop the possible radiation.” The female agent stood by Steve.

 

“Why does he dislike you?” Steve decided to ask, and saw her tense slightly.

 

“I was ordered to infiltrate Stark Industries because he was acting oddly after coming out as Iron Man. We found out that he was dying, and I was given a serum to inject him with to give him a bit of extra time to finish fixing the problem.”

 

“What she is neglecting to tell you, is that she encouraged several destructive behaviors in myself before stabbing me in the neck with a sedative and healing agent. Then she decided to write a truly fabricated assessment saying that I am a classic narcissist and that I am unfit to be Iron Man.” Tony walked up to the pair, startling them and opening a new case.

 

“If your mind is anything like your father’s, you are not a narcissist; it’s just that you are able to follow at least six things at once.” Steve mentioned absently.

 

“It’s more like ten to fifteen.” Tony replied in kind as they locked the scepter into the extra durable case, blankets and all.

 

“Then you have a very good reason to come across as arrogant and narcissistic. People never seem to understand that a genius isn’t just a label, it is a reality and a way that someone is forced to live.” Steve picked up the case and silently offered to lead the way.

 

“This way Point Break, you’re bringing Reindeer Games with you?” Thor frowned.

 

“You do not seem to use given names, Man of Iron, why?” Tony gave him a bland smile.

 

“Given and Chosen Names imply closeness and permission to use them, Lord Thor.” Tony turned and began to walk away, leaving the four others behind with that cryptic statement.

 

Steve wondered just what made Tony so leery of being close to someone, and figured that it had to do with the light on his chest. He would ask later, once they had a chance to get back the compromised soldiers from under the control of the scepter. Waving the others to follow, Steve made sure that no one took the case holding the scepter from him. He didn’t want someone to open it and let it take over more people.

 

“Good you’re all back. We have another situation.” Fury began to speak upon seeing the return with Loki.

 

“Too bad Fury; we need to see how to break this control mechanism that the scepter is using. We have an idea of the frequency, but I refuse to take it out of the box to scan it.” Tony replied snarkily, as he watched Steve keep the case close to himself when a younger agent tried to take it from him.

 

“I agree with Stark, that scepter is much too dangerous, and until we can figure out if it can be destroyed without harming the people caught in its snare, then it will remain in that case.” Steve crossed his and gave his own unimpressed stare to Fury after denying the younger agent again.

 

Fury frowned at the show of unity, but accepted their demands. If needed, he could always collect the scepter later, when they were too busy to guard it, to find use for it. Before he could say anything else, Peggy stormed into the room.

 

“How dare you, you miserable cur! Do you know what you’ve done?” Her eyes were spitting fire at the director and the others paused for a moment.

 

“Did you seriously pull that cube out of the locked and sealed vaults so that your scientists could use it to make weapons? We have no idea what it is, and you pulled it out for something as so stupid as weapons?!” Dugan had come in behind Peggy and looked to be close to murdering someone.

 

“We need weapons to fight what is coming!” Fury would not let them disregard his wishes for protection.

 

“Did you stop to think that by turning it into a weapon, or that by using it whoever sent it to us will come armed to the teeth? That if we had left it alone, then we would have nothing to worry about?” Tony’s voice carried through the room. Fury would have made a comment, but the fact that the tone was devoid of any inflection gave him a pause, and made him think about the question.

 

Peggy nodded at Tony and let out a truly frightening growl at the silence from the director. She knew that he would never think of such a thing, because while he would do that, most people that he deals with would not. However, the director forgot that these are not humans, and the fact that he applied human reasoning to the use of the cube, pissed her off just that much more.

 

“Now, while I love a good pissing match, we need a place to put Reindeer Games. He’s also being controlled, but since he is much more dangerous, we need a place to lock him in.” Tony was tired of the silence and did not want to be near his aunt when she finally blew her top.

 

“Follow me Stark; I know a good place to have him cool his heels while we plan for this disaster.” Agent Coulson walked into the room and gave a brief nod to the three Commandos in the room. Shrugging, Tony motioned Thor to follow with the captive.

 

Tony was leery of trusting an obvious suit, but the use of the man’s personal codes made up for his past indiscretions, for the time being. JARVIS had found out quite a bit from the servers using the agent’s codes, and he was increasingly worried about the World Security Council. He saw why the red haired agent flubbed his personality report, and figured he owed her a small apology. That would happen after this crisis; as well as, after he went after the Council for their dirty tricks. There were a few things that bothered him in the various files, but he would have to wait to ask his aunt and uncle after they were done.

 

“Mr. Stark, do you think that the people being controlled can be freed?” The agent’s voice was bland, but Tony saw the fear and tentative hope in the man’s eyes.

 

“Yes. Either we will find a way to disrupt the energy, or they will need a hard boot.” Tony answered honestly.

 

“What do you mean by a hard boot, Man of Iron?”

 

“A hard boot is when you force a computer to turn off before you turn it back on. I don’t know what level of force is needed to get the agents back yet. Hopefully it’s not temporary death, but something simple like a minor concussion.”

 

Locking Loki up in the room Tony turned towards the bound man one last time before he left.

 

“If you are trapped in there, we will get you free.” With that he left a thoughtful agent behind to take Thor to the briefing room.

 

When Coulson got Thor to the briefing room, he saw a picture of the cube on the screen.

 

“The Terrasact! How did this fall into your Midgardian hands?” The shock in Thor’s voice silenced everyone in the room.

 

“We found this back in 1944, after we raided the stashes that the Red Skull left behind. He had found it back in 1938, just before the war of 1938 got under way.” Peggy replied calmly, as if she hadn’t been berating Fury just a moment ago.

 

“The Terrasact belongs to my people. We use it to facilitate our travels between the nine realms. Once we have removed the taint that controls your warriors, I shall return both Loki and myself home with the Terrasact.” Fury was about to speak when the carrier shook.

 

“Sir, we are under attack, it seems that the controlled agents are forcing their way in.” The female voice filled the room.

 

“Keep track of where they are going Hill. Make sure that the prisoner is secure as well.” Fury barked out as Steve and Tony headed out to where the damage was caused and the lone female agent in the room made her way to the Command Centre. Thor followed the female agent, and Dr. Banner tried to keep calm as the carrier shook. Now was not the time for the Hulk to come out and play in such a small location this far up.

 

Spotting several controlled men, they were all knocked out with a kick to the head, until she encountered the highest level agent that had been taken. Her partner, Hawkeye, was looking at her with eerie glowing blue eyes. Attacking before he could arm his weapon of choice, the agent made sure to keep him on the defensive. It took no longer than three minutes for her to knock him out using the metal railing, but she was partially winded due to reminding herself that she was to subdue and not kill.

 

“Cranial recalibration is a success.” Hearing the affirmative back from others who had done the same, she picked up her partner and took him to medical. He would need treatment for the wounds that she had to inflict on him.

 

Thor, upon hearing the Midgardian warriors mention that knocking the controlled out with force corrected the taint, made his way to his brother’s cell. Entering the room he gave a sad smile to the bound man.

 

“Please forgive me for this brother; it is the only way.” Punching his brother several times in the head, Thor only stopped when he knew that Loki was unconscious. Turning to the agent that guarded the door, he nodded and sat down to wait and see if it worked.

 

As the fighting slowly came to a stop inside the carrier, Steve and Tony were working at ensuring that the carrier didn’t fall to a messy landing.

 

“Tell me what is powering the turbines.” Tony informs Steve as he tries to recalibrate the downed turbines manually.

 

“Some form of electricity.” Steve wasn’t entirely sure what he needed to do, and his tone of voice conveyed that Tony needed to clarify quickly.

 

“That it is. Do you see a grouping of buttons and a lever?” Tony replied apologetically, forgetting for a moment that Steve didn’t really know the advancements in technology well.

 

“I see them.” Steve replied and made his way over slowly before he had to duck away from the panel when he was fired at.

 

“Press the green, then blue buttons before pulling the leaver.” Tony mentioned as he began to push the turbine blades to get the carrier stabilized.

 

“What will that do?” Steve managed to knock out the man shooting at him and pressed both buttons, but he had to dodge another controlled soldier that came after him.

 

“It will help stabilize the turbines once I get them moving to the optimal speed.” He tossed the man back, and forced himself to ignore that he tossed him out the hole in the side of the plane after nearly being push out of it himself. Dashing over to the board, he pulled down the leaver and braced himself as the plane kicked the turbines back into gear.

 

Tony quickly escaped the turbines and flew into the whole that was created by the explosion. As both he and Steve made their way to the Command Centre, they were pleased to hear that the agents inside the ship were able to remove the mind control from the affected agents. Upon entering the briefing room, Tony noticed that the red haired agent, as well as Agent Coulson, seemed to be even more relieved than the other agents on the Carrier.

 

“Now, what is the next step? Do any of the agents that were controlled remember anything that we can use to wrap this up?” Steve asked the room at large, hoping that someone could tell them something.

 

“Aye, Loki has woken from his taint and he carries terrible news.” Thor spoke solemnly from his spot on the other side of the room.

 

“What news?” Fury demanded.

 

“That there is an army that will come through the Terrasact that was taken from your warriors. A Doctor was captured and he is putting the final pieces in place before the army will swarm this city.”

 

“Well, isn’t that going to be fun for all of us; you ready to lead one last battle today, Captain?” Tony asked as he looked at Steve.

 

“I need a bit more information first, but yes, I’ll lead whoever will follow me.”

 

“I’ll get Loki and bring him in. He will, hopefully, have more information for us.” Agent Coulson left the room before Fury could deny the move, and Tony bit back a chuckle at the sour expression on the man’s face.

 

Steve watched as a man was lead in by the red haired agent and made to sit at the table.

 

“Come on Natasha, I’m fine.”

 

“You will sit and listen to this briefing, Clint. It seems that even your controller was controlled.”

 

“I was controlled by a puppet?” Clint was still a little bit sore and concussed, but he could swear that Natasha told him that Loki was not in control of his motions either. He was more upset that Natasha took his knives, especially when Loki was brought in. His lips curled into a snarl, until he saw bright green eyes instead of the steel blue.

 

“I don’t like you, but I accept that you got screwed over too. Just don’t expect the warm fuzzy feelings from me.” With that Clint glared at the table and began fiddling with a few things on the console in front of him. Tony assumed he was chatting with either Agent or Natasha.

 

Loki began his tale about Thanos, the one banished from all Realms, and how he was forced to obey. The scepter’s power was controlled by Thanos, and allowed him to control all those that were under its power. His army did was arriving to promote fear as well as disarray. Once the people on Earth were terrified to his liking, he would destroy the planet as a gift for the entity known as Death. He would then claim the Terrasact and use it to travel where ever he wished in the Nine Realms.

 

They were horrified at this news and Steve began to rattle off a plan to use one the portal opened. As they began to wonder where it would open, Tony slapped his forehead.

 

“My tower has its own clean energy source; if I could prevent it from being turned into a power source for weapons, I could power the state on New York for fifty years.”

 

“Then that’s where we will start. Hopefully we can stop this before it begins.”

 

“Don’t count on it.” Clint popped up a news channel that was talking about how a large wormhole opened up in the sky and that something was coming through.

 

As they made their way to the quint-jet, Steve knew that his newest team was just starting to get their feet wet. These aliens wouldn’t know what hit them.


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hydra has been spotted in a hidden room in Stark Mansion.

**_ Six months Later _ **

**__ **

Tony couldn’t believe the difference that six months could make. The Battle of New York, which the media had coined immediately, left mostly clean-up in a five block radius around Stark tower. There wasn’t much infrastructural damage, but the cosmetics and the fallen bodies of the invading aliens left a lengthy clean up time.

 

Tony managed to calm the media once the battle had finished, and he had made sure that the property damage from the Battle was repaired on Stark Industries dime to quell even more fears. He had also opened his tower to his tentative team, and was pleased when they all moved in. He also redesigned the tower so that the Avenger’s each had a floor to their tastes.

 

Clint and Natasha were on the bottom floor of the residential area, as they would always be the first ones there to stop anything from storming the gates, and they had the best access to prevent entry from the vents and other possible entrances.

 

 Agent Coulson had a floor to himself, just above Natasha and Clint, due to the security on some of the documents he had. His floor also acted as a meeting room where they could hold secure briefings and communications. By having the floor to himself, Agent Coulson could use the area as a means to have a full break from the Avengers without leaving the building.

 

Thor and Loki shared the next floor, and it held a large balcony so that they could come and go as needed from Asgard. By having their landings on the re-enforced balcony, there was less damage to the structure, and the separate arrival area allowed them to invite those from their realm down to stay the night if they chose.

 

Bruce had his own floor, closer to the roof, so that he had an area that he could shut himself away in if the Hulk ever came out to play. His location in the tower gave him a private elevator to the roof where Tony had set up a meditation garden in a green house. Also, Tony had a room set aside on Bruce’s floor for when they could finally get Betty away from her tyrant of a father.

 

Lastly, Steve shared Tony’s floor, which was also the upper most floor in the tower. Tony had redone the entire area to give Steve a chance to indulge in his art, when he so chose, while still having the area seem like his own space. They also left enough of the floor blank as they prepared it for their third, considering Steve was insistent that they would find him.

 

They also had a set of communal floors, between Bruce’s and the two Asgardian’s floors, where there was a media library, a regular library, an extra large kitchen as well as a fully kitted out gym for those who would destroy a regular gym with ease. More often than not, everyone one was on one of the two communal floors where they could sit and enjoy their comradery. Either there were teaching Thor, Loki and Steve more about the twenty first century, or they were learning more about each other. It soothed many fears that each Avenger had, in the first few months too, as it gave them a reason to stay and bond.

 

Steve and Tony were still in the learning stage of their relationship, where they dated to figure out what they enjoyed as well as worked through any issues they may have. Both had a feeling that Tony’s other Mark was going to be extremely traumatized and need a lot of care. Luckily his aunt and uncle were doing some discreet digging into SHIELD, because those files that JARVIS had found were troubling. If they read like Tony believed, then Hydra was deeply entrenched into SHEILD and the World Security Council and most governments over the planet.

 

“Aunt Peggy, Uncle Dugan! What brings you by?” Tony hugged his family to him carefully. He could feel the age in their bones, and it worried him.

 

“We came to finish setting up your specific codes because, ultimately, SHIELD will belong to you.” The room stilled at that proclamation and Tony looked at his aunt with a pained expression.

 

“I couldn’t even keep running my own company, now you want me to oversee a massive spy organization?” Tony knew he sounded like he was whining, but he didn’t care.

 

“Please Tony, we know that the main reason that you let go of Stark Industries was because you were bored with the business side of it. You enjoyed getting dirty far too much to ever enjoy sitting behind a desk.” Dugan waved his hand as if to dismiss Tony’s worries.

 

“Besides, running SHIELD is much more intricate than running SI. You would have several projects that you oversee; several projects that you personally run; several tasks that need your attention, but not your physical presence; you will even have to protect several secrets from even your own men, simply because the knowledge of it cannot get out.” Peggy spoke as if Tony hadn’t mentioned his worries.

 

“That means very little to me right now Aunt Peggy. I know SHIELD has its secrets, it is a spy organization after all. You want me to take over for a specific reason; why?” Tony crossed his arms and the others stilled for a moment as Peggy and Dugan seemed to sag.

 

“There is reason to believe that neither Peggy nor I can take complete control of SHIELD due to a few things Howard had put into place before he died. He managed to set up a set of protocols that allow only those of his blood to operate the true aspect of SHIELD.” Tony closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

 

“So dad’s paranoia caused him to hide things that are needed to keep SHEILD in line.”

 

“Essentially yes.” Dugan rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

 

“Where are these protocols?” Both Peggy and Dugan let out a soft sigh of relief.

 

“Tony?” Steve reached out and let his hand fall on Tony’s shoulder. Looking at the others he gave them a smile with little humour.

 

“Don’t worry too much guys; Aunt Peggy and Uncle Dugan won’t allow me to be hurt. They spent too much time helping me as I grew up.”

 

“That, and Tony has already been into a few of the secrets as far as we know.” Peggy handed Tony a piece of paper, and everyone was surprised when he took it from her.

 

“You mean to tell me that the reports are on that sub-frequency are right?” Tony’s anger surprised everyone in the room.

 

“What sub-frequency?” Natasha sat up and stared at Tony as he cursed under his breath.

 

“Get me into this secure area and I will disclose _everything_ to the Avengers, especially Coulson. What JARVIS and I found is disturbing enough, if we get proof, then we need to deal with the fall out before too many things start happening.”

 

Tony followed Dugan as he quickly made his way out of the tower, where he quickly drove to the old Stark Mansion where the majority of SHIELD was based on land. Entering Howard’s old study, Tony took a moment to look around before he spotted something off. Walking towards the far wall, he pressed his hand to the small indent off the side of a bookshelf and yelped when something pricked his finger.

 

“Full Access Granted; welcome to SHIELD, Anthony Edward Stark.” The automated voice froze both Dugan and Tony as a door opened on the floor by Howard’s desk.

 

Tentatively, they made their way down the newly reviled stairs and we amazed by the room and its contents. Walls were covered in computers and monitors; cubby boxes were studded to the ceiling, and seemed to be filled with hard drives; there was one section of the room completely dedicated to tracking Hydra and Dugan gasped at seeing them filling so many positions around the world.

 

“I had a feeling that this was in the files that JARVIS and I found.” Tony whispered as he looked around before taking a deep breath. “J, I want you to harvest every scrap of data from these computers and route all the information to our servers with a 50 byte encryption. Also, have the others set up camp in Phil’s secure meeting room. We have quite a bit to discuss and plan.”

 

Dugan blinked and kept looking at the dots that spread over the globe. Some places were much more barren than others; Asia and Africa seemed to be spared, but North America and Europe were swarmed in red. Steve was going to be furious over the fact that Hydra was not completely destroyed after the War of 1938. However, this gave him hope that Sergeant James Barnes could now be found. If Hydra was so prominent, then they possibly found the Sergeant and have him waiting in the wings to torment Steve, now that he was ‘alive’.

 

“Come on Uncle, we have a silent war to plan.” Tony patted his shoulder and they made their way from the hidden room.

 

A silent war was feasible, but they would need extra caution. If Hydra got ahold of their intensions, then they would do everything in their power to paint the Avengers as the newest enemy. The pair was silent as they made their way back to the tower, both knowing that Steve would be affected the hardest, as well as the three agents of SHIELD.

 

“J, call Rhodney and see if he, and any friend he needs to bring along, can help us out with our planning.”

 

“What are you thinking of doing Tony?” Dugan asked as they made their way to the others.

 

“Getting anything we can on our side. This is going to be messy, no matter how delicate we need to be.”

 

“What will be messy?” Natasha asked as Tony and Dugan walked into the room. She noted that both were pale, as if they were shocked by something, and that Tony seemed to be resigned to something.

 

“I found my father’s contingency plan. He had a room that tracked everything from the satellites, internet, phones, as well as anything that transmitted data. It self updated so that it could keep up with the changes in technology over the years, so everything kept getting recorded. In it, I found the confirmation that I prayed was not true. J, please put the red zone on the table.”

 

A map of the globe appeared and red dots began to fill in. Several were moving slowly and seemed to be over the water. Phil was the first to catch on, partially.

 

“Enemies of SHEILD or people that need to be tracked because they are dangerous.”

 

“Close,” Tony took a deep breath and ignored the looks of worry. “These are agents of Hydra that are scattered over the globe.”

 

The room seemed to pause for a moment before anger exploded in the room. Tony let his head fall forward and watched the dots as everyone in the room seemed to try and argue that it was not possible. Slowly, one by one, they looked back at Tony as he typed out possible strategies on a tablet.

 

“Tony, I was told that Hydra was defeated at the end of the War of 1938.” Steve was vibrating in place, angry at the thought that he was lied to.

 

“And whoever told you that thought it were the truth. Hydra went deep underground after Hitler lost the war, and when you killed the Red Skull. They began to take over other areas, and ensured that they were in positions of power. Now, I need to fight a secret war against Hydra, all while keeping the public face of the Avenger’s clean. If they find anything on us that they can use to discredit us, they will. Considering if the people are against us, it will make it just that much harder to stop Hydra once and for all.”

 

Natasha was nodding at Tony’s explanation, and Steve was still reeling over the fact that Hydra was still around. He had hoped that they were truly gone, but what Tony was explaining to them made sense. Hydra would not show itself if they could not fight back. Also, by infiltrating the way they did, they could recruit soldiers easier than they could back during the war.

 

“We will have to go after the soldiers and the upper levels at the same time, but with a variety of insurgents. Can we use SHIELD operatives to help?” Steve asked as he watched the dots flow around on the screen.

 

“The majority of SHIELD is not loyal to Hydra, but several upper levels are. We can dispatch them easily enough, without triggering Hydra’s network. It’s the politicians that I’m worried about. If we can find a way to ensure that they die by ‘natural causes’ we can keep everything under the radar a bit longer.”

 

“We’ll have to scatter how the attacks are done. If we go after any of the grunt agents, we will have to take them out almost a base at a time.” Clint mused as he looked over the map.

 

“We should start in Europe, all while keeping ourselves very public here in America.” Natasha spoke.

 

“I can make several decoys that have our appearance here if we are to go overseas. They can even hold their form if they are touched.” Loki offered.

 

“I shall remain with Loki, as to dispel any talk that you were not battling without us. It is verily known that if my Midguardain Shield Brothers go into battle, I shall assist.” Thor gave them a wide smile.

 

“Dugan and I will make sure that Fury and Hill use the agents that they can to help take out several of the bases, and they have covert agents who have easier access to the politicians that we can eliminate.”

 

“How about we have a few politicians also targeted by assassins. There are those that are in several positions where the people would celebrate the death of the Hydra politician simply because of how dangerous they are.” Bruce offered.

 

“I have some means to set up the assassination of several politicians and ensure that the parties responsible are not aware of their employer.” Tony murmured.

 

“Sir, I apologize for the disruption, but Colonel Rhodes has arrived with another gentleman.”

 

“Thanks J.”

 

“JARVIS, have them come here please.” Steve said before Tony could get up.

 

“Steve?”

 

“It’ll be fine Tony, you trust them?”

 

“I trust Rhodney with my life.”

 

“Good, now why did you ask me to come here with how many soldiers I could trust with what you need to tell me?” Rhodes walked into the room with a soldier in a Captain’s uniform.

 

“Just one?” Tony looked confused.

 

“We have a few others, but I want to know what is going on before I can debrief them.”

 

Peggy began the whole tale and Tony only had a moments warning before he was wrapped in the strong arms of his best friend. Steve startled, then saw the twisting Red String and gave a small smile. The tale, told in Peggy’s halting tones made the situation seem that much more realistic, and when she finished, the Colonel began to swear.

 

“I can’t get you any of my men. JARVIS, can you zoom into the base that I’m at?” Seeing the whole base seeped in red made Tony swallow.

 

“Well, I guess that leaves out help from your command.”

 

“Sorry Tony, but you have War Machine and Captain Sam Wilson, better known as Falcon at your disposal.”

 

“Falcon?” Clint looked up curiously.

 

“Yeah, got a pair of sweet wings; they allow me to get a better aerial view of targets and to also do surprise attacks to help the troops on the ground.” The other man spoke calmly.

 

Tony nodded and mentally made plans to get access to the wings for repairs or upgrades. If they were Hydra made, they might even need to be remade.

 

“What are you thinking Tone?”

 

“Might need to make sure that his wings aren’t Hydra made. Would rather not give them the idea that all they have to do to ground us is by taking a heavy hitter out by hijacking Falcon’s ride.”

 

“I didn’t bring them with me, even though we did bring the War Machine armour.”

 

“You got a pic of your wings, or access to the mechanisms of them?”

 

“Yeah, on my computer back on base.”

 

“J, could you?”

 

“Of course Sir.” Sam startled at the disembodied voice.

 

“Sorry, bout that. JARVIS, say hello to Captain Sam Wilson; Captain, say hello to JARVIS.”

 

“Good day Captain Wilson.”

 

“Uh, hello Jarvis.” Sam turned confused eyes to Rhodes, who chuckled at Sam’s expression of disbelief.

 

“JARVIS is an Artificial Intelligence that Tony made back when he was 19. He named it after his caretaker Edwin Jarvis. He’s been helping to take care of Tony ever since.” Sam could read between the lines, and would offer an ear at a later time if he thought Stark needed it, but right now, they had a battle to plan.

 

The team began to plot into the night over which places to attack first, and Natasha offered the Red Room training facility. It would be possible to turn that out as a positive to any government, because no one was stupid enough to back a program that killed children as they try to turn them into assassins and spies. After a short debate, they determined that Natasha, Clint and Bruce would go, as they would have the easiest means to get in and out of the area. Steve and Tony were too well known, and neither Asgardian had a reason to attack that place without it back firing in them.

 

“Alright, so while you three go through the Red Rooms, Steve and I will begin to work on the politicians. We need to be at several functions in the next two weeks, so that will give us a chance to plant tracers and bugs in key locations.”

 

“Peggy and I will keep working with the various covert organizations that do not have too many Hydra agents, and we will also speak with several governments in Asia and Africa so that they can be wary and protected encase Hydra tries to hide in their countries.”

 

“Sam and I will keep a listing of all soldiers that are not Hydra, so that if you do need men, I can get you some. Also, if it gets too bad, I’ll tell the brass that I need to keep War Machine with you because of time specific upgrades that you need to perform.”

 

“Then it is settled on what we need to do. It will take time, but we will end Hydra if it is the last thing we do.” Tony spoke and his promise sent shivers through everyone. With that everyone cleared out of the room, but Agent Coulson caught Tony’s eye and motioned for Clint and Natasha to head off ahead of him. It took a moment, but soon only Tony and Agent Coulson were in the room.

 

“I assume that you need to speak with me.”

 

“You assumed correctly. I need you to take over the day to day running of SHIELD.” Phil motioned him to explain. “The agents will be more likely to trust someone who did rise through SHIELD, and this will give you a better idea of who is more likely to be a plant or who is in danger of turning. This will also give us a better chance of adjusting SHIELD so that it can’t be taken again when we are done.”

 

“Mr. Stark, why aren’t you a strategist?” Coulson asked.

 

“Numbers in simulations can be wrong, and I am not comfortable enough carrying too many secrets to do that for SHEILD on a long term basis. Numbers and seeing patterns is simple, once you notice them, but I don’t like applying it to living beings.” Tony shrugged. Patterns were always fun for him as a kid, but he found out that some people were using his patterns against people, so he stopped.

 

“I see. We should meet every day for one hour to ensure that our plans are on track, but we should vary when we meet, if only to prevent people from catching on.”

 

“Random isn’t as random as you think it is. But JARVIS will be able to keep it as random as possible so that we can keep track of everything.” Tony and Coulson left the room, and headed to the kitchen where the rest were sitting down for supper.

 

“Is it already supper time? It feels like I just had lunch!” Tony squawked, causing Clint to laugh. They had to be careful to keep up some of the appearances, if only because just one lucky moment, and the whole chance to stop Hydra would go to pieces.

 

Tony was calculating everything, and while his first thought was for damage control, he was going to ensure that Steve would have a restful time. If anyone deserved peace, it was Steve Rogers. With the information at his fingertips, Tony would be able to pass off much of his pre-occupation with the tablet as a new project that he was working on. The others would back him up, and it would also give him and Phil another place to meet so that they could discuss strategy. Steve and the others would need to be in on it as well, simply because they could think of something that they did not. It would be an interesting dance to look back on, he decided as he sat at the table to eat. He only hoped that they would be able to look back on it together.


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bring in the Winter Soldier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To anyone who has issues with mind control or non-consensual body modification, the first little part of this chapter is not for the faint of heart. Please skip it if you do not wish to read about the acquiring of the Asset known as the Winter Soldier.

**_ The Winter Soldier _ **

 

They were furious that they were losing so many tools and fodder, and they were even more livid that they could not prove who was doing it. Oh, they believed that the Avengers and SHIELD were the ones responsible for their losses, but they were losing their hold on their dominion. When the War of 1938 ended in 1945 with the death of Hitler and the Red Skull, Hydra had already hidden themselves and began to plot. They needed political power, as well as global immunity to continue their work. So, they began to rise to power in North America and Europe. They could not get into the political worlds of Asia and Africa, so they simply had small bases hidden there for emergencies. They worked to spread their influence throughout the organizations that could stop them, and they made use of the Red Rooms. As it stood, they were practically unstoppable.

 

Then, Captain America was found in the arctic ice. Hydra bid their time and watched as the Captain fought in the Battle of New York with a group of people that were similar to the Howling Commandos. They were some that were worried, but as long as they did not make themselves known, they could continue until they could seize their rewards all in one fell swoop.

 

But, not that much later after that fateful Battle, their emergency bases were being destroyed. One by one they were discovered by agents, not loyal to their cause, within the countries that they had hid them; then, Natasha Romanoff, with two accomplices, demolished the Red Rooms. For that destruction, they could not even retaliate, since the three were applauded and regarded as heroes for removing such a horrific blight from the world. No one would assist them if they knew that they had taken those children and cared not if they survived the Red Rooms. Those that did were simply tools for their use. As it was now, they would have to deploy the Asset.

 

Hydra was lucky to have found such a treasure just before they had to go into hiding. It had already been augmented a small amount, as proven by its healing rate and durability from the high fall. So, they cleared their newest Asset of its memory, as it should no longer need it, and used it to their leisure. They did need to give it a proper limb, as the fall had shattered the left one on impact. Thus, they constructed an arm for it, and cared not that it caused pain to the Asset, as it was simply another tool for them to use.

 

When the Asset was not needed, it was kept in stasis. They had no need to leave a tool loitering around when it could be stored in between uses. Using cyro-stasis, they were able to keep their Asset for their Special Missions. Upon deciding that a Special Mission is needed, they would pull the Asset from stasis and program the necessary information for the mission into it. The scientists routinely ignored the cries of pain from it as the parameters were uploaded, after another wipe.

 

As they began to defrost the Asset, several guards were on hand to keep watch to ensure that the procedure did not deviate from the norm. Once it was thawed enough, the soldiers brought it to the chair where the Asset was strapped in. Putting in the mouth guard, the Asset was ignored as they began to clear its mind and download the newest mission. The scientists spoke as sounds of pain filled the room, and the soldiers stood still. Once the download was complete, the mouth guard was removed, as were the arm restraints.

 

“Your mission is to eliminate the Avengers. You will report to us every three days.” One of the scientists stepped forward and spoke as he handed the Asset a folder full of papers.

 

With that the Asset was released from the chair and he was lead to the room where he would dress and collect his weapons. The Winter Soldier was in play once more.

 

* * *

 

“On your left!” Steve called as he jogged past Sam for the fifth time in an hour.

 

“You’ve got to be kidding me man!” Sam shouted at the blond. “You’ve been running at that pace for an hour, aren’t you tired?”

 

“Nope, I’m barely winded; why, do you need to stop?” Steve paused and jogged in place while Sam chuckled.

 

“Naw, but seriously man, you’re moving at a pretty good clip.”

 

“I’m actually not running as fast as I could be, but I’d rather not advertise that too much.” Steve shrugged sheepishly.

 

“I get it, it’s like you realize that you are already different, but you don’t want to push it in someone’s face that you were changed or are that _much_ different.”

 

“Yeah, that’s about right.” Steve’s watch beeped.

 

“Guess that’s our cue to head back?” Sam asked.

 

“Yeah, Tony has some new toys for us to try out. Though he isn’t specifying what kind of toys they are.”

 

“Could be the good kind,” Sam offered.

 

“Or it could be the kind that makes a mess in the tower again.” Steve made a face as he and Sam walked back to tower.

 

“Aw, come on Steve, you liked the foam wars, admit it.” He nudged him and smirked at the attempt at an affronted face.

 

“I did, until I saw the mess it made when we finished.”

 

“Meh, Clint cleaned it up, considering he did start the foam war with Dum-E.”

 

“True, and Natasha was very upset with him when she found out why he started the war with Tony’s little helper bot.”

 

“Boredom is not an acceptable excuse, apparently.” Sam snickered.

 

“Especially since Stark was working on a new type of weapon for her next mission, as well as a means to hide herself electronically, without actually being hidden.” Steve pointed out making Sam wince.

 

“Yeah, that wasn’t a smart move on his part.”

 

“Coulson, eventually, blamed it on the fact that Clint, Natasha and Bruce had to hide after destroying the Red Rooms. Considering how popular they became because of it, it was a good thing that they hid. Bruce, especially, was terrified because of the attention, but his reaction was understandable. Most people would treat him worse than the children in that place were treated simply because they don’t understand him or the Hulk.” Steve mentioned absently as the tower slowly came into view.

 

“I wonder though, what would happen if _they_ came out of the woods now? Tony mentioned that their global numbers are thinning rapidly or something?”

 

“He mentioned that they had two places left in Europe and about two hundred in the United States left. That, and only about twenty of them were in positions of power that could be dangerous to us.”

 

“We got lucky that SHIELD wasn’t really affected, and that the World Security Council was even easier to fix up, once we knew who and where to target.” The doors to the tower opened seamlessly and let a soft breeze of cooler air swirl around them.

 

“Hey JARVIS, does Tony want us right now, or do we have a minute to shower first?” Steve asked.

 

“Sir will need both of you in the scheduled briefing room in twenty five minutes.”

 

“Thank you JARVIS.”

 

“You are welcome Captain Rogers.”

 

Both men waved the other off as they went to their respective floors, and Steve wondered what was in store for them later. Tony was never good at hiding things he wanted to show off, whether it was good or bad, he craved knowing that his work was appreciated. It was in those moments that Steve wished he was found sooner so that he could repeatedly beat Howard in the face for what he had put his son through.

 

Washing up quickly, Steve dressed in a pair of comfortable jeans and a plain shirt before sneaking into the kitchen for a snack. He knew that Tony never minded, but he liked to pretend that he had to be stealthy in the kitchen. It gave him a little thrill each time that he could open the fridge and pull out a piece of fruit, the fixings for a sandwich, or even some leftovers from previous meals. Then there were times where he found treats from when he was younger, and it would always leave a few tears in his eyes at the thoughtfulness of his team-mates.

 

Making his way to the meeting room of the day, Steve paused to look out at the New York sky line and sighed. Gone were the days that buildings were smaller than the Statue of Liberty, and now it seemed like the Statue was the shortest that a building could be. Shaking his head, Steve missed the small reflection of light as he made his way back to the briefing room.

 

Entering the newest briefing room, Steve looked at the small clusters of red dots across the United States and the ten dots in Europe. One winked out in Europe and three out by California as he stared at the map.

 

“When do you want us to bring it out into the open?” Clint propped his head on the table and watched Tony stalk back and forth.

 

“It would be better if we never let this out, but at one point Hydra will make a last ditch effort to attack us publicly. What we need to do, is find a way to ensure that they can’t use it to their advantage.” Tony began to mutter something about needing a ghost.

 

“Why would you want the Winter Soldier out?” Natasha seemed truly curious.

 

“Who is the Winter Soldier?” Sam asked as the majority of the room looked at Natasha and Tony in confusion.

 

“The Winter Soldier is an assassin that is employed by Hydra. From what we have been able to uncover, it reads that he is programmed with targets. This implies that he is not loyal to their cause.” Tony sighed and gave them a wan smile. “I want the Winter Soldier out because he is their best weapon to eliminate us, if we are caught off guard. Also, there is something about the files that they have on him that seems oddly familiar.” Tony put the picture up on the main screen and Steve felt the world fall away.

 

“Bucky”

 

“Who is Bucky?” Bruce whispered to Tony, of who was just as pale as Steve upon hearing that name.

 

“Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes was known as Bucky to his friends and the Howling Commandos. He was also their best sniper and infiltrator when it came to demolishing Hydra bases.” Rhodney looked at the picture and spoke with a hoarse voice.

 

“J, I want you to keep an eye out for this face. Let us know where his is at all times by dotting him in blue.” Tony’s voice was unsteady as he slowly sat next to a shaken Steve.

 

“As you wish Sir, might I suggest that caution is to be used when encountering him in public?”

 

“He’ll use anything that he can to eliminate his targets, even the use of civilians.” Natasha’s voice was subdued. “He will report every three days to a set of handlers as he learns about us and our movements. When he reports in, any breakdown in his mannerisms will be corrected.”

 

“Corrected how?”

 

“I am unsure. But I remember him from a mission when I was still with the Red Rooms. After three days he seemed less like a true follower and more like one that was forced to serve. He gave me the push needed to leave the Red Room for good.”

 

“So, is there anything that makes him stand out?” Sam asked as he nibbled on some cheese and crackers.

 

“He has a metallic arm with a bright red star up by his shoulder. Also, he wears a mask that hides his face and eyes from cameras that could identify him.”

 

“JARVIS, add those to the search parameters. I want to know where he is, and how quickly we can pull him from Hydra.”

 

“It will take time for the programming to lose its effectiveness.”

 

“I’m patient; besides I don’t want to kill him, just take him out of Hydra’s arsenal.” Tony waved his hands in the air as he spoke.

 

“Would you help re-habilitate him?” Clint asked. Tony kept his eyes and Natasha, and her stare would have been intimidating, if he didn’t see the hope in Steve’s eyes reflected in her own.

 

“If it ends up being possible, then yes I will. Considering Natasha broke her programming, I would estimate that it would take a lot of brain damage to keep his programming permanent.”

 

“So, don’t hit him too often in the head?” Clint asked cheekily.

 

“Find another way to knock him out. But, if he was with Hydra for as long as we think, they may have used him as a test subject to create more of the Super Soldier Serum.”

 

“So, elevated healing and maybe even a bit stronger than normal.”

 

“That’d be about right.”

 

“Where do we begin?” A blue dot began to flash a few blocks away from the tower.

 

“I guess out by the old Stark Mansion.”

 

“Stark, we should keep several people back encase we need a distraction elsewhere.”

 

“Rhodney, Clint, Bruce, Thor, Loki and I will stay here. Natasha, you head out with Steve and Sam to bring Bucky back. You know what he was ‘trained’ to do, and Sam can help keep Steve grounded better than we can right now.”

 

“Why do you send only three of your compatriots to go and retrieve him, why not four or five?” Thor asked curiously.

 

“If we send too many, Hydra will be onto us, by sending out three, in regular clothes mind you, we do not tip our hand too early.” Coulson answered for Tony, as he followed the three Avengers going on the mission out of the briefing room.

 

“Steve, you guys should go in street clothes, but carry your shield. Sam, can you carry your wings in a bag or something?” He didn’t need to ask Natasha if she was carrying weapons, it was like asking someone if they were alive and breathing when they were.

 

“Yeah, I can fit it in a duffle.” Sam nodded and was about to head out when Steve spoke up.

 

“Why in civilian clothes?” Tony gave Steve a rueful smile.

 

“So that we don’t spook Hydra too soon, and have them attack in a way that would blame us for any damage. If you go in regular clothes and are attacked, then you can defend yourselves and help people, putting Hydra even more into a no-win situation.”

 

“Coulson was right,” Natasha spoke up. “You do have a good mind for tactics.” Tony made a face.

 

“It’s just patterns and data crunching.” He waved it off, and Steve gave Tony a kiss on the corner of his lips.

 

“It’s still swell. We’ll be careful and keep our communication units in while we head out so you can give us updates as we make our way over.” Tony stood still for a moment as the three left before bringing his hand to his lips. That was the first time Steve had kissed him impulsively as well as so close to his mouth.

 

Smiling softly to himself, Tony made his way back to the briefing room, and ignored the questions about his smile. He got the others back on track quickly, and fell back into the mindset of setting everything up. He could focus on that kiss later. He was positive that more would follow now that they found Steve’s missing link.


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky has been spotted

**_ Encounters of the Markings _ **

 

Steve was trying to stay calm as he walked to the old Stark mansion with Natasha and Sam. He was going to see Bucky again. He just knew that it was _his_ Bucky, and his String would prove it.

 

“Come on Natasha! That’s not fair, how can you hide so many knives and weapons on your person in what you’re wearing?!” Sam’s voice broke through Steve’s plotting and reminiscing, and he had to smirk at the pout forming on Sam’s face. However, considering the tight t-shirt and skinny jeans that she was wearing, it was a valid question.

 

“It is called planning and appropriately distributing the placement of each weapon and knife.”

 

“Don’t try to figure it out Sam; she hides weapons like Clint hides in the vents. It’s just how they work.”

 

“Not cool, I wanted to know if she sewed them into her clothes, or if she made little pockets to hide them all in.”

 

“That is a secret of my trade. I do not ask you to share yours; do not ask me to share mine.” She raised an eyebrow and looked at the sprawling mansion as it came into view. “To think that, at one point, Tony used to live here; he must have been a very lonely child.”

 

“I can still hear you Romanoff.” Tony’s voice sounded in their ears and Steve had to stifle a chuckle at the affronted tone of voice.

 

“Well, I’d rather not have Tony find out that we have an opinion about his childhood.” Sam muttered.

 

“You just don’t want him to take back those shiny new wings.” Natasha raised an eyebrow in Sam’s direction.

 

“Your point being?”

 

Steve simply smirked and opened the gates that kept others away from the old Stark mansion. There were three floors above ground, and about six underground, according to the blueprints that Tony shared with them. The top side floors were all residential, allowing for people to have wings to themselves and to also hold social parties. The underground floors were all for business. There were labs, offices, rooms similar to what Tony had found with the harvested data room, and even a small hospital. The mansion was set up to be independent from the rest of the network in New York, simply because of the power needed to run it. It was essentially a smaller and more conservative version of Stark Tower.

 

As they made their way to the door, Steve heard the pin being pulled from a grenade. Seeing the small black object fly towards them he brought his shield in front of him from where he had hidden it in his duffle.

 

“Behind me!” Steve managed to shout before the grenade exploded on the lawn before the three of them. Shortly after the explosion, gunfire rained down upon them from the roof of the mansion.

 

“Shit! This guy means business.” Sam ducked as another wave of bullets hit Steve’s shield.

 

“How far are you from the entrance?” Coulson’s calm tones filled their comms.

 

“About five feet.”

 

“Run for it, once you’re inside, make your way to the roof.”

 

“GO!” Steve covered the three of them as best as possible as they made a mad dash for the door; though Steve had to body slam the door open as another grenade landed behind them.

 

“Clear.”

 

“Good, make your way up to the third floor. There is a hatch that will get you to the roof that isn’t on the plans.” Tony’s voice was forcibly calm and Sam began to put on his body armour.

 

“Steve, I’ll pop out to distract him from the second story, you and Natasha can sneak him from the inside.” Steve nodded.

 

“Alright, but be careful.” Natasha cut Steve off before he could continue.

 

“Right now he means business, and while Bucky won’t want to hurt any of us, right now he isn’t fully Bucky.” Steve gave her a disappointed face, but did not refute her words. The fact that he did not speak again was more telling to Sam than anything else Steve might have said about who they were facing.

 

As they dashed up the stairs to the second floor, Steve and Natasha kept going to the third floor as Sam dove out one of the tall windows. The sound of glass breaking and new gunfire kept them going as Sam distracted the soldier on the roof.

 

“Where is that entrance on the third floor Tony?”

 

“By the old painting of the Tower of London, be sure to punch in the code 070414 followed by 041317.”

 

Steve punched in the numbers and watched as the door slid open silently. Dashing up the stairs, Steve pushed open the door and saw the back of the Winter Soldier. His shoulder length hair was blowing around in the wind, and suddenly Steve’s String flared to life, showing the full and intricate design once more since before the ice. However, this also brought the attention of the Soldier to the fact that someone was there and both of them had to dodge as another grenade was lobbied at them.

 

“Geez Cap, don’t gawk at the guy, protect yourself!” Sam hollered as he pulled the Soldier’s attention again with a swooping kick.

 

Steve threw his shield like a Frisbee, when he spotted an opening, and watched as the metal hand plucked it from the air before looking it over. Steve swore that he saw something in those eyes, but it faded quickly before the shield was tossed back and the Soldier jumped off the side of the building.

 

“BUCKY!” Steve freaked as he re-lived watching his friend fall from high up, it took Natasha and Sam a few moments to calm Steve down before they looked over the ledge. There was no body at the bottom of the three stories, and Steve sagged for a moment in relief.

 

“You okay Steve?” Bruce’s calm voice flooded Steve’s ears and he let out a shaky breath.

 

“Not yet, but soon I will be.”

 

“Head back to the tower; we got some data for you guys during that fight.” Tony’s voice was subdued and Steve hid a wince at what could be going through Tony’s mind.

 

* * *

 

Tony had to take a deep breath and gave a small nod to Coulson as he stepped out of the briefing room. He needed a minute to calm his thoughts, and some fresh air would do. He knew that Steve had been close to Bucky, back in the war, but the raw pain and naked terror in his cry brought it home like a punch to his stomach. It only took him a moment for him to arrive at the main entrance and to step outside on the main street, after using his special elevator. He took a deep breath and began to relax against the building. It startled him when he felt his other Mark start to itch. Blinking, he looked around and spotted the same Soldier that Steve, Natasha and Sam were just fighting. Tony had to take a minute, because this would imply that Steve’s best friend that they were trying to save was his other Heart Marking. Now they had to work even faster to prevent the Soldier from returning to check in, or Hydra would use this to cause both Steve, himself and the other Avengers many problems.

 

“Tony!” Steve’s voice pulled his eyes from the Winter Soldier for just a moment, and when he looked back at the alcove across the street, he was gone.

 

“Damn.” He muttered and gave Steve a smile.

 

“The others were wondering where you went off to. They saw the blue dot near the tower and were worried for a moment.” Tony swallowed and gave a shaky smile.

 

“I just found my other Heart Mate,” Steve’s eyes widened in shocked surprise.

 

“Do you know who it is?” All Tony could do was look at Steve’s intricate braided String and Natasha let out a soft curse.

 

“It is the Winter Soldier.” Tony nodded and watched with a sinking heart as determination filled Steve’s expression.

 

“We should do the briefing first before you go after him Steve. There is some information you will need before you can head out.” Tony led the three up to the briefing room and Tony sagged into Steve’s arms once they arrived.

 

“As the three of you encountered the Winter Soldier, we noticed that his arm was emitting a frequency similar to the old USSR transmissions back in the war of 1938. Also, he is to be ‘debriefed’ tomorrow. If you can keep him from returning over the next two to three days, we should be able to get him to assist us with our attack on Hydra, even if he will be distrustful of us.” Coulson pointed out the several ways that they could turn the Winter Soldier from Hydra and Tony shivered in Steve’s arms.

 

“After two days, I will be with you when you encounter him.” The room stilled at Tony’s proclamation.

 

“Why?” Tony shared a look with Steve, and was given a rueful smile before he answered Rhodney’s worried tone.

 

“He’s my other Mark.” Clint’s head hit the table with a thud and the rest broke out into a shouting match.

 

Steve and Tony waited as they let out their frustrations and confusion before he continued explaining why he had to be there.

 

“Steve might be his String, but a Heart Mate is so much more of a pull than anything else. He would destroy Hydra on the fact alone that they tried to get him to _kill off_ his own Heart Mate.” Thor frowned.

 

“You have seen him?”

 

“I saw him just before I met up with these three who were coming back from their mission.”

 

“Was he untoward?”

 

“No, but I couldn’t get a good read on him. He was partially hidden by the building, in a small alcove, but it is hard to miss a shiny metal arm.”

 

“Then I shall await here as your battle brings home your way ward comrade.”

 

Steve and Tony gave the Asgardian small smiles and Bruce sighed.

 

“I’ll start getting the Hulk room ready for when you finally bring him in. He might need a day or two to readjust once the majority of the programming is shaken off.”

 

“I shall assist, as to ensure that the room looks less like a prison than a fortified room.” Loki’s eyes went distant for a moment before he shook off the memory and Thor’s face looked haunted for a moment.

 

“By the way Steve, they are finishing the Howling Commando’s exhibit at the War Museum if you want to head out to it.” Clint mentioned offhandedly.

 

“Why would he go there?” Sam asked, confused.

 

“That’s where the nearest Hydra base is, isn’t it.” Tony murmured, and Steve tightened his hold for a moment.

 

“It looks like it.”

 

“Washington DC, here we come.”

 

“Guns, knives and blasters. Oh my!” Clint muttered sarcastically, causing Bruce and Rhodney to snicker at the reference.

 

Quickly setting up a route to beat the Soldier to DC, Tony had to usher Sam to go and pack quickly. They would be in the city for several days, and it would be better if he had several sets of clothing.

 

* * *

 

The Soldier was confused. Firstly, he found that he had a String and a Heart Marking. Secondly, both were a target from his handlers. Thirdly, his String was not a simple cord, but a pattern that looked familiar. Finally, his Heart Marking managed to spot him and did not seem resigned, but cautiously excited. Hydra had always told him that his markings were insignificant, and that if he did not want them to be permanently removed, then he would ignore their presence. The pair of markings that were pulsing on his skin was breaking down his conditioning faster than either Hydra or the Avengers were anticipating. The Soldier knew that the Avengers had a way of tracking Hydra, for he knew that it was not coincidence that they arrived at the mansion so quickly after he had landed there. If his instincts served him right, they would try to stop him from checking in, so he would go to the nearest base, and then he would see about “defecting”. Perhaps they could help him with the gaps in his mind. The cry that Captain America had shout out, brought back a veiled memory of falling from a great height before the phantom pains began in his attachment. This would bear looking into.

 

Hoping onto a transport truck, the Soldier kept as close to the flat roof of the truck as possible and watched the signs that pointed towards Washington DC. He had several people to stalk, and perhaps they could bring back the ghost of who he once was.

 

* * *

 

Tony fidgeted in the quint jet as he tried to remain still. His other Mark was the brainwashed Sergeant James “Bucky” Barnes! The one person that he had admired more than Steve back when his Aunt and Uncle told them the tales of the Howling Commandos. He was excited and terrified, simply becausaared more than Steve back when his Aunt and Uncle told them the tales of the howlinguse he knew that the person he was getting to know as Steve Rogers was different than the Steve he was with now. He just hoped that he didn’t lose both before he could get them.

 

“Relax Tony. You know that the museum was pleased to have us on hand for this.” Steve tried to get Tony to relax before Natasha knocked him out for agitating her.

 

“I’m trying, but what if-?”

 

“What if nothing, Tony. We will encounter the Soldier first, from there, once we’ve assessed what needs to be assessed then you can meet with him.” Sam spoke firmly.

 

Tony let out a frustrated breath and tried to calm down once more. Steve let a small smile spread on his face as he pulled Tony into his lap. The squawk that came out of Tony’s mouth cut the tension as Steve kept him close. He knew that Tony would relax easier if he was tactile, and he also wanted to remind him that he was wanted. All that mattered now was finding out what the Winter Soldier’s next move will be.


	12. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of the end...

**_ Finding Bucky _ **

 

The Soldier hid behind the columns as Captain America was shown around the newly unveiled war memorial exhibit with the red headed assassin, the winged soldier and the one that stirred his Heart Marking. His String and Heart were pulsing in tandem, due to his proximity to the pair. He wanted, which still shook him that he _could_ want something, a chance to speak with both of them. He would prefer the chance without the other two around; but, he figured that his attack on the trio, back at the Stark Mansion, would leave them leery of his new motives. However, he did not care about the other two. He wanted to touch his Heart Mate and keep him close, he wanted to touch his String bonded and run his hands through that short blond hair, and he wanted to remember the significance of the sealed gold band on his right bicep and why it was never taken off, even though it was prior to his forcible induction into Hydra.

 

Spotting a moment where the other two members of the party were distracted, the Soldier stepped out of the shadows in his Heart Mark’s line of sight and quickly hid again before he could be spotted by any of the others. His Mark turned to the one that held his String and spoke in low tones before they mentioned something to the others and seemed to wave them off. The male who had the metal wings frowned for a moment, but nodded at the pair and followed the seemingly familiar female out of the room. It would appear that the man wanted to ensure that his Bonds knew what they were doing, and the Soldier hoped that it was the case, since he did not. As the pair left the room, everything seemed to pause in anticipation of something.

 

“So, now that they’ve left, will you come out?” His Heart Mate was smart enough to know that he would not make the first move, and this pleased him. He only hoped that he would be able to get answers to his broken questions.

 

Steeping out into the open, his original target gasped and pulled off the cowl on his head. Blue eyes peered at him with hope, determination, and several other emotions that he was unsure of. His Heart Mate was looking at him in wonder and confusion, before he spotted the arm and licked his lips.

 

“Heart Mate and String Bond” the voice was smooth and blank eyes watched both as they kept some distance from him in understanding, acceptance and what felt like rejection.

 

“Yes, what do you remember?” The blonde spoke and seemed vibrate in place as he awaited the answer.

 

“Flashes, others, many red Strings, but not like this one.” He lifted his hand and the Braid pulsed out to reach the blond man.

 

“Do you know who we are?” His Heart Mate asked curiously, and his String Bonded swallowed loudly.

 

“I know that Hydra claimed you as a mission to be removed at this time,” the Soldier frowned and his metallic hand twitched as he fought the mission in his mind. “But, the red String never left and the Heart mark that appeared on the skin in 1970 is now active.”

 

“What about names?” His String’s eyes pleaded something with him, and a whisper of a memory stole through his mind.

 

“Steve Rogers and Tony Stark; Captain America and Iron Man, enemies of Hydra,” he frowned. “Both are connected to who the Asset was.”

 

“The Asset?” His Heart Mate asked curiously.

 

“The Asset, found at the base of a hill back in 1944 the day that Captain America flew the plane into the arctic ice. Found with a completely damaged arm, but was pre-enhanced by Dr. Zola before the Howling Commandos were formed and Captain America came to fight against Hydra. The Asset did not need attachments and was reprogrammed to fit Hydra’s needs, however, recalibration needed to be applied every three days or the programming would begin to deteriorate at an alarming rate.”

 

“Oh God,” the face of his String Bonded was pale and his Heart Mate seemed to be shaking with suppressed emotion. A quiet ‘Screw it’ was heard before his Heart Mate dashed over and wrapped his arms around the Soldier; his String Bonded followed a few steps behind him. However, upon their skin meeting, both he and his Heart Mate gasped as their Marking finished filling in.

 

“You are my best friend, my intended bonded, my Heart Mate’s other Marking, and your name is James Buchanan Barnes who everyone called Bucky.” Blue eyes filled with tears, but they did not fall. The Soldier was surprised at the emotions he could name in the ghostly familiar face.

 

“You are someone who has been held hostage for seventy years, but every time you were out, you fought the programming to remember who you were.” His Heart Mate’s voice was steady, but he was still shaking slightly. He remembered from the files on his Heart Mate that he was also held hostage and that it was during that time that he ended up with the glowing disc in his chest.

 

The Soldier kept playing their words over, and noticed that they did not shy away from him. He spotted the other two returning before either of his bonded did, but they clued in quickly upon feeling him tensing.

 

“Hey you two, did you enjoy the rest of the exhibit?” Tony simply spun around in the Soldier’s arms and gave them a smile that spoke of happiness and sadness.

 

“It was pretty good, it didn’t glorify the struggles that the Commandos had, nor did it condemn them.” Sam spoke neutrally, aware that there was a deadly assassin at Tony’s back, who had no problems shooting at them earlier that day.

 

The red headed female stepped forward and seemed to gaze into his soul. Tightening his arms slightly around the men in his arms, she paused before leveling a deadly glare at him.

 

“I won’t let you hurt them.” Natasha spoke in Russian to the Soldier, threat visible in her words and posture.

 

“They are _my_ bonded.” He replied in kind. She paused and looked him over before nodding.

 

“I understand. They will allow themselves to be yours, only if you allow yourself to be _theirs_ as well.” The other three looked at the two of them in confusion, as none of them seemed to speak Russian.

 

The Soldier nodded and the female smiled toothily.

 

“Where were you to meet for your debrief?” She asked in English, causing Tony and Steve to perk up and don bloodthirsty grins as well.

 

“We can deal with the ones inside and help get his memories back.”

 

“JARVIS could hack in and make sure that it is his real memories too.”

 

“Not to be a downer and all, but there are three things you need to think of. First, you need to get in. Second, you have to prevent them from wiping him before you can get his memories back. Third, does he want to go there, where the pair of you _will_ be in danger?” Sam asked, knowing that it had to be said. The Soldier twitched and frowned at the pair that he was holding close.

 

“JARVIS can dismantle any electronic security system, and we take out the guards if we need to.” Tony frowned at Sam, not liking the fact that he was trying to keep he and Steve from helping the Soldier remember what he needed to.

 

“Besides, we’ve all gone against Hydra before, and I know that they will have either a full squad or a minimalistic group of soldiers that they will guard with.” Steve shrugged, understanding where Sam was coming from, but he was also a bit peeved that he had brought it up so negatively.

 

“They are at the old War Museum. The Handlers claimed that it was ironic.” Tony snorted.

 

“I can see why they would say that, but, now that we have the location, JARVIS can take them over.”

 

“Did you bring your armour?” Tony gifted Sam with his look of pained disappointment.

 

“Do you ask Natasha if she carries weapons?” Sam blinked and ducked his head with a rueful smile.

 

“They have electric nets and EMP blasts in their arsenal.” The Soldier spoke in a quiet voice and Tony smiled back at him and nodded.

 

“Most people we end up fighting do, but I have dampeners to ensure that the damage is as close to non-existent levels as possible. But, thank you for telling us that.” Tony figured that he should start getting used to thanking people verbally until the Soldier could pick up on his non verbal cues, and Steve hid a smile at Tony’s obviousness when it comes to how he was acting around him.

 

“So, are we going to eliminate this asshole that believes that he gets to dehumanize a person by erasing what they don’t like and inserting what they do?” Tony gave everyone an impatient look.

 

“We will have to be cautious when entering, or the handlers will leave before they can be removed.”

 

“So, we don’t get to blow up the front door?” Tony pouted, and Steve held back the pout he wanted to show as well.

 

“Tony and I can fly the four of us to the roof while you go through the front door. That way, they think nothing is amiss.” Sam offered, before Tony and Steve could get into a betting match over how much damage they could do to the entrance before the Handlers left.

 

“That and once we are all in, JARVIS can lock Hydra out of everything and then all we have to do is clean house.” Tony began to type into a small hand held computer; Steve assumed that he was telling JARVIS what they were going to do.

 

“We would still need to be cautious, there may not be many, but they will all be trained.” Natasha spoke up, reminding everyone that Hydra were fanatics, and thus might try to fight to the death.

 

The Soldier remained quiet and knew that he would need to quickly and efficiently kill the guards at the front of the base, or it would be a never ending stream of soldiers entering to remove them.

 

“Do you have the statement ready to attack Hydra for the media?” Natasha asked.

 

“Yeah, let me call the tower and get the others started on that. We can then legally attack the bunker without being hunted by the public for attacking people for no reason.” Tony fiddled with his phone for a moment.

 

“Hydra watches all things, especially if they are named.” The Soldier knew that Hydra needed to know everything in order to fulfill their objectives. This was an aid and a hindrance depending on how much information was available.

 

“So then we should attack just as they are going public with the information.” Tony paused and looked between Steve and the Soldier.

 

“We should also put out that we had undercover operatives that gave us this information, this way they are less likely to attack those who weren’t removed with the rest of the organization.” Tony called the tower and spoke rapidly to the person on the other end.

 

“We have ten minutes to get there before they start talking.” He tucked the phone away and began to head towards an exit.

 

“Luckily, the base is about five minutes away.”

 

“Let’s go, the faster we get in there, the faster we can remove this part of Hydra for good.” Steve was also hoping to ensure that the machine that took Bucky’s memories away could return them to the Soldier.

 

* * *

 

Televisions across North America, quickly followed by the rest of the world, began to show a breaking news story.

 

“Breaking News, the terrorist group called Hydra is once again active. We are going Live to Stark Tower where a statement is about to be given about the terrorists and their threat to the world.”

 

The camera pans out and shows Director Coulson standing behind a podium and several of the Avengers standing behind him in full gear. Thor and Loki stood on either side of the director and War Machine and Hawkeye were positioned in places to keep an eye out for snipers. Doctor Banner remained indoors to keep in contact with everyone and to share any new information that came to light.

 

“Good day; I am Phillip Coulson, Director of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division better known as SHIELD. Today, I am here before you to pass on the critical information that we have complied over the last three months in regards to a renewed terrorist threat. The terrorist organization known as Hydra has stepped back out onto the world stage. They were a third front back in the War of 1938, and Captain America and his Howling Commandos dealt mainly with these terrorists. They were mostly removed in 1944, but they went into hiding once their leader, the Red Skull known as Jonas Schmidt, was killed in his last act of trying to destroy the United States of America.

 

“They had, over the years, perfected their positions of power, and began to take over various governments. We, at SHIELD, managed to find information leading to this renewed Hydra and sent in covert Agents to pull information for us. With this information, a small strike team is going after the most influential base here in the United States. There, they will extract our covert agent who has been forced to do unspeakable acts, not under his own free will, and they will be able to remove the cell leader here in our country. As I speak, various countries are moving in on the bases that have been noted as Hydra bases within their own countries. There, the agents will defend themselves, but will also try to capture as many Hydra prisoners as possible, simply to ensure that all bases have been destroyed.” He took a drink of water and looked back at the camera with a calm look on his face.

 

“Hydra tried to take over the world by covert means this time, as opposed to their open attacks back in the war of 1938. Once we have the soldiers in custody, we shall ensure that there are _no more_ Hydra cells left on the planet. If there are hidden bases, they will be discovered and any information inside will be subjected to review. Anything that is detrimental to the population of the planet in any form will ensure that the captured will be faced with the harshest of penalties. There is no excuse to wish to take hold of a whole planet only to use the population as mindless beasts to be tested on and used as fodder for training those _loyal_ to the Hydra mission _._ It is unclear, at this time, how close they were to their goals, however, we shall continue to stop any of their plans.”

 

The reporters began asking questions, and limited answers were being given as Steve’s small strike team began to work with JARVIS to get Bucky’s memories back into the Soldier after having taken total control of the Washington DC base. They had a small handful of prisoners, and Natasha was pleased that the leader of the cell was not dead. Soon, Steve and Tony would be able to finish their bonding, as it was irritating watching how incomplete both of them were by not consummating it.

 

She would keep watch; however, as she knew that several Hydra troops would probably arrive to take back their head base in Washington DC. If they could hold this base, then they could hold any base. She would be patient, and Sam was doing a quick patrol around the room they were in to ensure that none of the other entrances were being breached either. Soon they could destroy this symbolic base, and it would mark the beginning of the downfall for Hydra. She couldn’t wait to see how creative her team was going to be.


	13. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Bonding...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have finaly found my muse and have began to slowly work out more of this story. Please don't ask for more, it will come as it pleases.

**_ The Aftermath _ **

 

Bucky bit back a scream as he woke, shivering as another nightmare slipped in from his torturous, newly returned memory. While he was infinitely glad that Steve and Tony had worked diligently at getting him his memories back from the Machine in the Hydra base, he was still terrified of the memories that he had from his time as a weapon of death and destruction. Tony swore that he did what he could to temper them, but, if he removed them completely, then he would not be able to get his memories of his past with Steve at all.

 

Bucky curled his shivering body around Tony’s as he valiantly tried to stop the memory from sliding across the back of his eyes and pouring into his consciousness, but he was not entirely successful. Steve tightened his arms around the pair of them and kissed the back of Bucky’s neck, sensing the distress of one of his bonded.

 

“You ok Buck?” Steve murmured sleepily, slowly waking as he felt Bucky stir restlessly in his arms.

 

“I’ll be fine, just a memory.” He whispered back, hoping that Tony hadn’t woken up because of his nightmare, nor that Steve continued with this line of thought.

 

“What was it about?” Tony asked through a yawn as he flipped around in Bucky’s arms. This ended up causing him to huff out an exasperated breath, as his plans to keep the pair of them rested while he worked through another horrific memory failed. Sighing, he sunk into their embrace and let them know just what Hydra had made him do, in this memory.

 

“I was remembering a mission from back in the sixties; at least I think it was the sixties. I was deployed in Western Russia, where I had to hunt down a man that had defied Hydra’s rule by letting a group of children out of the Red Room before they could be fully processed for their Black Widow training. I hunted him down, and had finally found him, it was somewhere in the northern part of the country. For his ‘crimes’ I cut off his legs, and left him to bleed out in the snow. Then, I brought out his hiding family, one by one, to execute them in front of him. Once I had removed his family from the land of the living, I left him to bleed to death surrounded by the carcasses of his wife and children; three of them were under ten years old. When he called me a monster, I didn’t react, other than in pride for completing the mission in record time.” Bucky shivered as he spoke in a dulled tone, similar to when he was reporting to his handlers as the Winter Soldier.

 

Tony nuzzled into Bucky’s neck and held onto him as he remembered the horrors that he was forced to commit. Steve petted both Tony and Bucky, knowing that touch would keep him grounded, as well as help Tony process the information that Bucky was sharing as he relieved his darkest days. Bucky simply basked in their combined comfort, and let the bitter taste of his memories slowly slide away.

 

“I won’t say that it’s fine, James, because I refuse to lie to you. It will, however, get easier to deal with. The old adage that all you need is time, in this case, really is true. You will have ups and downs, good days and bad days, but I promise that Steve and I will be with you, and if we can’t, the others will as well. Both Steve and I, as do the others, have nightmares about our own trials. They won’t leave, but their hold on you, like ours, will slowly lessen its grip.” Tony gave him a sweet soft kiss and curled his free hand in Steve’s. He didn’t want Bucky to think that they would leave him, he was too important for them to leave behind.

 

“Also, you know that, while not the same, we can understand some of the things that you went through. A lot of the memories that you will end up living through will be things you don’t think you can talk about, but I promise that you won’t be looked at differently because of them.” Steve was being as earnest as possible as he spoke, and tried to convey that he would not be discarded because he had PTSD. It would be hypocritical if they did that, since every team member had a varying case of it.

 

Bucky hummed and let them calm him with their words. He knew that they believed what they were saying, but he would hold judgement until after he had recovered some more. When it came to him needing assistance, Tony was the most affectionate of the pair of them, but Steve was easier to talk to, at times. However, there were times when he needed to get away from both of them, if only for a small amount of time, then, he felt most comfortable with Clint and Loki. Both were able to keep him from relapsing, and they were also knowledgeable about no longer being in control of your body. Loki was more in tune with being tortured before being controlled, while Clint was able to describe the horror of watching yourself attack people you know and not being able to stop it. He was also able to relax around Bruce and Thor, but he was wary of Natasha and Sam.

 

He had his reasons for reacting the way he did, but it stemmed down to their personalities. Bruce simply was a calming presence to his battered mind, and being around Thor gave himself a chance to ask all the questions he wanted about the future, without sounding stupid. With Sam, he felt his hackles rise, simply because of his persona as a shrink, and Natasha reminded him too sharply of his time with Hydra. Her blank demeanor made him revert back into his Winter Soldier mindset and it frightened him. He did not want those abilities just yet, he wanted to heal first.

 

He was brought back to the moment when he felt Tony’s lips on his neck. Just a soft press of lips on his skin, but it tingled. Both he and Tony were frustrated with Steve’s stalling when it came to completing their bond, and Bucky knew that Tony was getting more and more insecure over the fact that Steve never moved to complete it. Tilting his head back a bit with a hum, Bucky let Tony have more space and let out a small sigh of happiness as Tony nipped lightly at the skin.

 

“Tony,” Steve’s exasperated tone stilled both of them, and Bucky felt his Heart pull back, and slowly build up his walls at another rebuke.

 

“Hey, ignore him babe, I like it.” Bucky decided to stop Steve from being a kill joy, and if he didn’t want to finish claiming his Heart Mate, well, he did. Tony was perfect for him, and filled in all the spots that Steve couldn’t. He just wished that Steve would see what he was doing to Tony by pulling away every time he tried to go further.

 

Tony hesitantly went back to kissing and nibbling on Bucky’s neck, and soon, it was like he seemed to forget that Steve was even there. He slowly moved up his neck and worshipped the skin before Tony’s lips were on Bucky’s; this lead to Tony delving into his mouth like a starving man, and considering how Tony had reacted to Steve’s rebuke, he just might be.

 

Just what was Steve thinking by not claiming their Heart? Was he silently rejecting him for Marking him in a way that Bucky could not? Was it a way to take control of a situation that had been taken from him for over seventy years? Well, it didn’t matter that Steve was being stupid anymore, because he would claim him; Steve’s sensitive sensibilities be damned.

 

Bucky curled his metal hand around Tony’s waist and the sounds that came out of his mouth were so filthy that Bucky swore that a paid lady would blush just from hearing them. The noises made him more daring, and he rolled out of Steve’s loosened embrace and pinned Tony to the bed. He continued to devour that sinful mouth as he slowly pressed his body down onto him and swiveled his hips to get another wondrous, pornographic noise. Pulling back for a moment, Bucky gave his Heart Mark a cocky and naughty grin as he took in his dishevelled and debauched appearance.

 

“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes babe. You look ravishing, and taste amazing.” His voice was deep and husky, and a whimper came from both Tony and Steve. It was Steve’s whimper that dragged both their eyes to him, and the sight was glorious.

 

Blue eyes, so dark that they were practically black, were regarding the pair with love, lust and desire. His hands were gripping his thighs and his sleeping shorts were obscenely tented with is obvious arousal. It was equally obvious that he wanted to join in, but he held himself back. Bucky shared a confused look with Tony before turning back to Steve.

 

“What you staying over there for Punk?”

 

“Can’t hurt you, it’s too hot and tight.” His voice was hoarse, as if he had been shouting for hours.

 

“What do you mean hurt us?” Tony sounded confused and even a little offended that Steve thought he would hurt them.

 

“I can’t. I clamp. I break. Hang tight.” He couldn’t seem to find the right words.

 

“Wait, you can’t control your strength right now?” Bucky asked, confused since he never had that issue with his arm or the augments to his physiology again.

 

“No, can’t control it. Too much, too close” He whimpered and looked desperate to touch, but he held himself back with straining muscles and white knuckled hands. Tony looked Steve over and the words he was saying finally clicked.

 

“JARVIS, where are my special toys.” Tony’s eyes sparkled with mischief as he plotted out the perfect plan.

 

“They are in the steel steam trunk in your closet, Sir.” Tony kissed Bucky lightly on the lips and shimmed out from under him before slipping off the bed. He rummaged in the closet and a triumphant noise was heard as he dragged out a large blue trunk.

 

“These might help you Steve.” He had opened the latch and tossed a pair of manacles to the other. Steve tested the bonds and smiled as they held to his pulling.

 

“Where would they be tied?” Bucky asked, knowing that the head board might not be strong enough.

 

“J, hook please.” A small panel opened on the wall in the center of the bed before a sturdy hook appeared.

 

“I was going to see if either of you had wanted to play with these later. I never got a chance to do much in the way of sex over the years, so I was curious about a few things.” Bucky and Steve froze at the admission.

 

“I thought you’ve been with people before, it’s all the stories and reporters seem to talk about.” Steve whispered and Tony shrugged in embarrassment.

 

“Well, I’ve had sex with a man and a woman once, but it felt too awkward. So, after that one time, for each, I haven’t really done much. Besides, anything about me in the media was not for my gain.” Steve let out a guttural moan. He reached out to Tony with shaking hands and pulled him in before wrapping himself around Tony and devouring his mouth at that proclamation.

 

“I don’t know why, but that is hotter than I expected.” Bucky curled up behind Tony and began kissing his neck while Steve took control of Tony’s mouth. The noises that came from their Heart Mate were even more precious as they knew that no one else had ever really seen him this way before.

 

As Steve began to map out Tony’s mouth and body, Bucky moved around and positioned himself so that he had the best chance of cuffing Steve in one shot. Spotting his moment as Tony pressed up into the grinding hips of his “captor” Bucky quickly snapped the cuffs around Steve’s wrists and linked the chain onto the protruding hook. The startled moan made Bucky lick his lips as he nibbled on the straining neck before him. Steve pulled at the cuffs and felt no give, causing him to shudder and go lax in the bonds. With the help of Bucky, Tony flipped Steve over, so that he was lying on his back and smirked down at the lust blown eyes of his first Heart Mate.

 

“Well, now this is going to be fun.” Bucky’s wicked chuckle gave both of men under him a delicious shiver of delight.

 

“So, how should we do this?” Bucky asked as he nibbled on the shoulder in front of him causing Tony to moan softly in bliss.

 

“Can I have both?” Tony’s voice was quiet and unsure, still wondering if he would be stopped from going further.

 

“How do you want both?” Bucky asked just as quietly, as they teased Steve with feather like touches. But, Tony was also unable to answer and simply whined in need, so Bucky decided to finalize everything.

 

“JARVIS, where does Tony keep his supplies?” Bucky made sure to keep teasing them just enough that he could find out what he needed from where to finish what Steve should have started a while back.

 

A small light shone on the side table and Bucky let out a deep chuckle, enjoying how Tony reacted to his voice. Sliding away just enough to reach the table, he slid open the drawer and went hunting for any type of slick. Finding a decent sized tube, he pulled it back far enough to see the letter KY and was pleased with his discovery. Tossing it onto the bed, he moved back to arrange the three of them to ensure that all of them would receive the most amount of pleasure, after Bucky quickly stripped the three of them of their sleepwear. Sitting back for a moment, he paused and smiled at the lovely picture that Tony and Steve presented to him.

 

“Tony, slick up your fingers and get Steve ready for you.” Bucky’s voice was rough and Tony mewled at the commanding tone. Steve’s eyes were glazed in bliss and simply felt what Tony and Bucky were inflicting on him.

 

The introduction of a finger, however, caused Steve to strain against his bonds and the noises he began to make were causing Tony to shiver in need and want. Bucky hid a devilish smirk and kissed and nipped at Steve’s mouth, drawing out louder cries of pleasure.

 

“Now, now Stevie, you’re gonna let Tony here do what he wants to ya. Since you’ve been such a kill joy the past couple of times that he tried to start this up.” Bucky’s accent slowly thickened with his Brooklyn heritage and he felt the full body shiver that Tony gave upon hearing it.

 

“Didn’t mean to hurt. Was afraid.” Steve was too far gone to say proper sentences still, but Bucky understood what his best friend was saying. Because of his inability to control his strength once he was aroused, he was terrified of hurting Tony. Even if it was because they know that he would allow it and not say anything that would stop Steve from enjoying himself.

 

“It’s alright Punk, we’ll just have to show our fella that we’re gonna take good care of him.” Tony moaned and twisted his hand just enough that Steve arched off the bed.

 

Smirking at the two desperate men beneath him, Bucky slowly began to prepare the tightness that was Tony’s entrance. He had to pause more often than not, due to Tony trying to push for more than he was ready to take. He just knew that Tony would be desperately greedy for affection, but it wasn’t malicious. His upbringing forced him to be independent much sooner that he should have been, and Steve’s distance, though noble, hurt Tony in a way that would make it difficult to heal. But, neither he nor Steve was prone to giving up.

 

“Give him another finger Darlin’. I want to watch you make him fall apart.” Bucky’s accent washed over the pair, and Tony slid another finger inside. Steve’s response was perfect as his back arched into the air whining loudly in need and pulling on the shackles, desperate for more.

 

Mouthing at the expanse of skin before him, he made sure to aim for sweet spots and smirked smugly as Tony reacted to the touches. Steve’s eyes tracked every movement that Tony made, and Bucky winked at him before he twisted his hand just right. The squeal and jolt that ran through Tony caused a similar reaction in Steve, pleasing Bucky as he continued to drive his lovers into pure pleasure.

 

Soon both were prepped to Bucky’s satisfaction, and he began to slowly slick up both his and Tony’s erections. The whimper that Tony let out caused Steve to focus on him and he watched as Bucky slowly stoked their Heart’s cock.

 

“Don’t worry Stevie, Tony and I will take great care of you.” With that, he lined Tony up with Steve’s entrance and slowly helped his Heart slide in. The sounds that the pair of them made were music to his ears. Once Tony was seated Bucky slowly pushed his way inside and bit back a groan of delight at how warm and tight he was.

 

“Oh Darlin’, you’re perfect fer us.” Bucky began to tell Tony just how amazing he was as he slowly began to move.

 

All that could be heard from that point on was the soft murmurs of affection, the sounds of skin meeting skin, and the breathy and desperate moans of pleasure. Steve was just falling over the edge when Tony finally came, and the feeling of being filled topped him over the edge. Bucky managed to hold on for a few more thrusts, before he also came with both of their names on his lips.

 

It took a moment for them to catch their breaths, but the bond snapped into place, strong and steady, for the first time since they all touched. Tony let out a startled cry as he felt everything that Bucky and Steve felt for him, not hearing the same cries from the others as they felt his emotions and the other’s emotion for them. It took a few moments for the maelstrom to subside, but once it did, JARVIS had undone the chains on Steve’s wrists and the three of them were wrapped around each other on the bed. Tony panicked for a moment and tried to move, but was quickly stopped when he realized that he was still seated between both soldiers. Before he could speak, Steve’s mouth covered his in a desperate kiss, one so full of love, devotion and apology that it took Tony’s breath away.

 

“I am so sorry; I never wanted to hurt you.” Steve spoke quietly as he pulled back enough to end their kiss and let Tony breathe. “I was so worried about hurting you, that I didn’t even notice that by not explaining why I wasn’t trying to consummate our bond hurt you even more.”

 

Tony tried to speak, but the emotions that Steve was feeling at that time were flowing freely through their bond, and he knew that the blonde was sincere in his regret. It made forgiving him easier, but the pain was still there.

 

“I thought you didn’t want me.” The words came from a small part inside where he remembered being told that he was never good enough. Two sets of arms wrapped around Tony and held him tight.

 

“I could never not want you.” Steve’s voice was wrecked as he felt just how much pain he had inflicted on his Heart, and Bucky curled around them both, offering them the comfort they needed for this talk.

 

“But-” Steve cut Tony off with a soft kiss.

 

“No, there was never anything wrong with you. I would have been gutted if I had hurt you even accidentally, and I never realized that I _was_ hurting you by not even opening my mouth to explain it to you. Peggy and Dugan were right; I am a blind idiot for not seeing what I was doing to you.” Steve’s eyes were glistening with tears, but he held them back.

 

“You didn’t know though.”

 

“It doesn’t change the fact that I hurt you.”

 

Tony curled around Steve, pulling Bucky in tighter behind him and snuggled in. He knew that Steve felt guilty, but his fears were justifiable for him. So, he sent as much love, understanding and forgiveness as he could down the bond. The choked and strangled noise that came from Steve made Tony aware that Steve now knew that he was no longer blamed for this.

 

“We really need to find a way to communicate better.” Bucky mumbled into Tony’s hair, getting a slightly hysterical laugh from Steve and a low chuckle from Tony.

 

“Yeah,” Tony yawned as he snuggled in. “We can get JARVIS to help with that.”

 

Tony missed the look that passed between the two soldiers and fell into a deep sleep. If he had, he might not have mentioned JARVIS to them.


End file.
